


One Year Later

by marvelsquake



Series: One Year Later [1]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Astro Ambassadors, Domestic Fluff, Dorks in Love, F/M, Family Fluff, Fluff, Mild Angst, Outer Space, Post-season/series 7 finale, Sisterly bonding, There is a plot I promise, Unplanned Pregnancy, Wedding, anon requested, child birth, like super mild, proposal, space travel, they just deserve to be happy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:33:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 64,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25900645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marvelsquake/pseuds/marvelsquake
Summary: Set right after the series finale's 'one year later' part where Daisy stares into space with Sousa and Kora.Inspired by the 'anatomy analysis' bit Jemma says to Daisy.
Relationships: Alphonso "Mack" Mackenzie/Yo Yo Rodriguez, Leo Fitz/Jemma Simmons, Skye | Daisy Johnson & Kora, Skye | Daisy Johnson/Daniel Sousa
Series: One Year Later [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1990870
Comments: 429
Kudos: 572





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> [anon requested: could you pls write a fic where daisy suspects she's pregnant and the 'anatomy analysis' jemma mentioned is actually a pregnancy test?']
> 
> I don't think they actually meant it in the show but boy do i love writing a pregnancy fic, lol. Hope you guys enjoy!
> 
> you can follow me on: tumblr.com/marvelsquake

“It’s beautiful,” she breathed out, admiring the nebula in front of her. The light casting a red glow, lighting everything inside of the control room with its scarlet hue. She glanced at Daniel, who was ever so enthralled with the view before them, and she felt him pull her closer. Daisy let out a soft sigh, and hooked her thumb in his belt loop, and focused back on the view again. She had spent months, no scrap that, years in space now, and the sight never seemed to not amaze her. Each galaxy displaying their unique hues and swirls of light and stardust. Daniel nuzzled his face into her hair, and placed a soft kiss, “You okay?”

Daisy hummed, and softly smiled, closing her eyes for a second, “Yeah… I just miss them.”

He simply hummed in response, and pulled her even closer, his arms snaking around her torso, and coming to rest at her hip. Daisy instinctively placed her hand on his, giving it a soft squeeze. This man always knew exactly what kind of comfort she craved. Sometimes it was simply to be a listening ear when she needed to vent. But now the silent acknowledgment of her pain, by looping his arm around her and giving a soft hum, was what she needed, and he just always seemed to know.

Daisy swallowed, “Hey, I think I am going to get some rest, barely slept last night.”

Daniel looked at her, and slowly nodded, “You sure you’re okay?” as it was not like her to go for a nap in the middle of the day.

Daisy swallowed, “Yeah, just… tired.”

“Okay,” Daniel answered, and let go of his hold on her. Daisy already missed his warmth, but she needed to be alone for a little while, some time to think. She put her hand on her sister’s shoulder, and gave it a gentle squeeze. Kora craned her neck to her direction, and gave a soft smile, before focusing back on piloting Z3.

Daisy then gave Daniel a nod, and she walked away from the controls, feeling her boyfriend’s eyes on her as he watched her disappear to the sleeping quarters.

She hadn’t exactly lied to him about being tired, but it was more the insistent headache, and the pesky nauseousness that came and went, that was really bothering her. She had sent her blood work to Simmons this morning, who had given her a not so subtle wink, before leaving her in their framework meeting. They both knew why she had wanted her blood analyzed, and Simmons was the only person she would disclose, and trust something so personal with.

She checked her phone again, hoping that somehow Jemma had already texted her back with the results, even though she knew the chances were slim. Jemma had told her she was going to do it discreetly, after Fitz had gone to bed, but the waiting was damn well near killing her. Sadly there were no drug stores scattered around in space, so waiting is all she could do.

Daisy opened the door of the bunk she shared with Sousa, and let out a deep sigh, as she shrugged off her jacket, and draped it over the chair next to the vanity. She sat down on the edge of the bed, disposing of her shoes, and decided to just go for a nap in the shirt she had already been wearing.

Their bunk wasn’t like all the other impersonal bunks inside Z3, quite the opposite. When they decided to go into space, Daisy wanted at least a _sense_ of homeliness this time around, a cozy space just for the two of them. Life was hectic enough, and she needed that comfort of knowing they had their own personal bunk to come back to, and relax. Besides, she felt like she earned it after all those years of living between steel beams and concrete floors. So, they had painted the walls white, with a nice soft green accent wall, and hung framed pictures of her found family. The floor at her feet was now made out of wooden floorboards, adorned with a fluffy rug, and their comfy king-sized bed draped with white sheets with subtle blue pinstripes, and a nice throw over it.

Daisy pulled the covers from the bed, and let out a content sigh, as the cold sheets touched her skin, counteracting the achy and feverish hot feel of her body. Daisy checked her phone once again, and tapped on the calendar app, the red dot staring back at her. She sighed, and put her phone on silent and dropped it onto the nightstand. She wasn’t really sure how she felt about it, but it somehow didn’t freak her out as much as she thought it would.

Before she could worry too much, her fatigue took over and she felt her eyelids droop. Her thoughts of worry quickly drowned out by her dreams.

* * *

Daisy awoke with a startle, as she heard a knock on the bunk door, “Yeah?” she croaked, and the door opened and she was met with a smiling Sousa, holding a bowl of what she presumed was soup, in his hands, “Hey, I didn’t want to wake you, but it had been a few hours, and dinner has been cooked, so I thought I –“

“A few _hours_?” she interrupted him, and looked at the small clock on the nightstand that indeed confirmed it had been that long.

“You must’ve really needed it.” Sousa said, and sat down next to her on the bed, placing the steaming bowl of soup on the nightstand. Daisy took in the smell, and softly smiled, glad that it didn’t make her queasy and she sat up properly in the bed.

“I hope you’re not infected with some kind of alien bug…” he tried to joke.

Daisy let out a soft chuckle, “No, I’m fine. I promise.” She hadn’t voiced her suspicion to him yet, not wanting to freak him out, when it was probably not even necessary. Probably just the flu, nothing weird, she tried to convince herself.

Daisy reached for the soup, she lazily stirred the broth, staring at the pieces of onion dancing in the bowl. “Thank you for this.”

“You’re welcome, I already had some. Kora made it, it’s really good.”

Daisy softly smiled, glad that her sister had a knack for cooking. She was getting sick of the same old thing that she had to eat during her year in space, in the search for Fitz. Daisy put the spoon to her lips and tasted it, savoring the flavor, “It’s _really_ good,” She murmured and ate another spoonful.

Sousa stood up, and Daisy followed his movements with her eyes, as she took the spoon from her mouth, “Where’re you going?” she wondered, not wanting him to leave so soon already.

“I’m sorry they need me, but I’ll be back in a few, okay?” and kissed atop of her head.

Daisy let out a soft grunt in dismay,

Sousa chuckled at her annoyance, “You need to eat anyway.”

Daisy nodded, and watched him leave and close the door behind him. The old Daisy Johnson didn’t like being taken care of, it made her feel weak, or infantilized, _vulnerable,_ but with Daniel, it was nice and it made her feel oh, so, loved.

Daisy ate another spoonful of the soup, when she suddenly remembered she had turned off the signal on her phone, so she could properly rest, and not be interrupted. While still balancing the bowl of soup in her lap, she opened her phone, and turned the sleep mode off. She was soon greeted with the familiar feel of buzzing, and a message from Simmons, her heart started beating in her throat, ‘Can you call? I have the results, I’d rather tell you over the phone.’ It read.

It was a rather curt message, even for proper doctor Simmons, and she swallowed. Suddenly not hungry for the soup anymore, she put the bowl back onto the nightstand. Daisy pressed the green button on her phone, and quickly called her best friend, not being able to wait a second longer. It didn’t take long before Jemma answered, “Daisy.” She simply said.

“Jemma, just tell me.” She practically begged, not wanting for the Brit to tiptoe around it.

“Let me just…” as she heard her friend walk somewhere, and close a door, “Your suspicions were right, Daisy… you’re pregnant.”

Daisy blinked, even though she knew this was the most likely option, with her feeling so tired and queasy, and of course the pesky little fact that her period had been late… it still took her aback.

“You okay?” she heard Jemma say,

Daisy swallowed, “Yeah, yeah… I think so?” it was silent for a few seconds.

“Look if there is anything I can do to help, I am here you know that, right? Even now that we are light years apart.”

Daisy nodded in response, even though she knew Jemma couldn’t see her, “Thank you, I just… I need some time to process it, thank you for doing the test. I just, I…” she stumbled over her words.

“Sure, of course.”

“I am going to hang up now.”

“Call me whenever, okay? Even if you want to talk options.”

“Okay.” Daisy answered, feeling like she was running on autopilot answering her friend.

“But Daisy, you’re going to be great, okay?”

Daisy let out a shuttering breath, “Thank you. Bye.”

“Bye.” And they both hung up.

Daisy dropped her phone in her lap, and swallowed. She subconsciously moved her hand beneath her shirt, and placed her palm on her lower belly. There was a _baby_ in there, a ball of cells that was growing into an actual _person_. Although she instinctively knew after her period had been late, that this was the most likely option; it still shocked her to the core.

Daisy swallowed, she knew what Jemma meant with the ‘options’ and were it a few years ago, yeah she probably would’ve gone and terminated the pregnancy… but now, with Sousa, there was _no_ way.

Daisy jumped as the bunk door suddenly opened with a squeak, and Sousa’s face appeared through the gap, “You decent?” he joked.

Daisy managed to force a small smile, and nodded.

Sousa opened the door further, and let himself in. He frowned as he saw her sitting upright in bed, the soup untouched, and with a distressed look on her face. “Are you okay?” he asked as he sat down on the bed next to her, rubbing her knee. Daisy didn’t know how she was going to tell him, they’ve only been dating for a little over a year, it was _way_ too soon, but she couldn’t keep it to herself, or she felt like she might combust.

“Were you serious when you said you wanted to experience it _all_ with me?” she blurted out.

Sousa frowned, “Yes, of course. As long as we are together, I want it all.” He said with so much devotion, it made a lump form in her throat.

Daisy slowly nodded, trying to find the words, “Does that include like… a family, the whole thing.”

“ _Daisy…”_ , he swallowed, as he suddenly noticed her hand placed low on her belly. And he started to get where she was heading with this, “Are you –“

“ _Pregnant_?” she finished his sentence, raising her left eyebrow.

Sousa gave her a nod, “Yeah?”

Daisy slowly nodded in return, “I… am. Yes, I… Jemma just told me.” She stammered.

Sousa let out a deep breath, he blinked a few times as he was trying to process it all.

“Look, I know it’s soon and we’re in _space_ of all places, but maybe this could be… good?”

A small smile crept on his face, and he nodded. He reached for her free hand that had been resting on her knee, “It’s… soon. But, Daisy… this is, I just…” his small smile turned into a big radiant one, the laughter lines near his eyes even more pronounced, “You’re with child! Our _baby_ , this is wonderful news!”

Daisy let out a relieved breath, “I am glad you’re happy.”

“Of course, I am! How could you ever doubt that? We’re becoming a family!”

Daisy let out a chuckle, finally releasing the pent up nervous energy she had been feeling all day. _Family_ she repeated in her head.

“It’s just that I…” he let out a soft groan, “I wanted to…” and he jumped off the bed, and walked over to his side of the closet. He rummaged through his sock drawer, and pulled something out from there. Daisy frowned as Daniel was still with his back turned to her. He quickly hid what he was holding behind his back, as he spun around, “This is not how I envisioned it maybe,” he said, “Or how I wanted to ask but…” he sat down next to her on the bed, and then suddenly presented a dark blue velvet box to her.

Daisy gasped, she knew what was coming next, but she was in disbelief. Sousa had a nervous smile on his face, and opened the box. Her eyes immediately focused on the simple, yet beautiful silver ring, with a perfectly cut diamond on it. It was traditional, not flashy and just so _him_ , “Will you marry me?” he asked.

Daisy gasped, and looked from his eyes to the ring and back again, even though the ‘yes’ was on her lips, she swallowed back her words. “I don’t want you to ask me just because I am, we… are having a baby,” she still had a hard time actually saying the word ‘pregnant’ out loud.

Sousa shook his head, “No, no! You see, I got this while we were still back on earth. I knew I wanted to ask you, but I wanted to wait a little, so you wouldn’t be overwhelmed, and since we were going to stay in space, I just… I bought it already, so when I knew I wanted to ask and…” he shook his head, trying to come up with the right words, “I just can’t imagine my life without you, waking up next to you, and making you smile, and -“ but before he could finish his sentence Daisy surged forward, and cupped his face in her hands, kissing him multiple times. Her eyes were filled with tears, and she nodded, “Yes, I will marry you, you big _dork_.”

Sousa smile got even bigger, and he nodded. He pulled the ring from the box, and gently slipped it on her ring finger. They both took a moment to admire how the diamond sparkled on her finger.

“It fits,” She softly uttered and looked back at him again.

“I stole one of your rings to get it measured. Jemma helped me pick it out.” He said with a proud smile, as if he had just told her the most elaborate spy story known to man.

Daisy slowly shook her head, of course Jemma knew and helped. She must’ve known for months and was able to keep it to herself, which wasn’t a small feat for her best friend. “It’s perfect.” She breathed out.

They raveled in silence for a bit longer, before Sousa let out a sigh, “I guess we’ll be heading back to earth again.”

Daisy raised her eyebrow, “Why?”

“ _Why_?” He repeated, “We can’t raise a child in _space_ , Daisy.”

“Why not? Fitzsimmons did it.”

“I am _serious_.” He said, looking at her midriff where her hand was still firmly placed on her lower belly.

“I am not saying we _raise_ the kid in space, I just… we can’t abandon the mission, not now, not yet. We’ve made so much process mapping out space, and Kora… she’s doing so well I don’t wanna uproot her progress, it’s not fair. Plus the whole crew depends on us.”

“Daisy…”

“I am not saying we _won’t_ go back to earth, I am just saying… let’s not now, not right away.”

Daniel looked at her skeptically.

“Okay… look. Why don’t I go to the medic bay, ask doctor Diaz how equipped we are to handle a pregnancy on board. I know Simmons oversaw the medical supplies, so I can ask her too. Maybe we can even do an ultrasound…” she wondered.

Sousa looked at her confused, “An ultrasound?”

“Yeah, so they –“ she suddenly remembered that the world of medicine wasn’t as developed yet in the ‘50s for him to know what an ultrasound entailed. She softly smiled, “It’s what they use to see the baby before it’s born, so the doctor can check if the fetus is healthy and even the gender later on. They use these high-frequency sound waves to create an image.”

“That doesn’t sound safe.” He pondered, frowning a little.

Daisy let out a soft chuckle, “It’s totally safe, and it’s super common now.”

Sousa let out a deep sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose, “Okay, if doctor Diaz can confirm that we are equipped enough to handle it, I can agree to stay a while longer on board.”

Daisy let out a deep breath, “Thank you, I promise you we will be back before the birth and everything, no way I want to do that in space.” And shuddered thinking of Simmons, who had told her the story of how she gave birth to her daughter, with only Fitz and Enoch present. No, she wanted a hospital and _drugs_.

Daisy scooted closer to him, and put her arms around his neck, and rested her lower arms on his shoulders, fiddling with the new ring around her finger while staring into his eyes, “This is a lot, isn’t it?”

Sousa blinked, and let out a rumble of a chuckle, “Maybe, but we can handle it. I know we can.”

Daisy nodded, and softly placed a kiss on his lips, “There is no one I’d rather share this with.” She said as they parted.

“Good, because I am not going anywhere.” He confirmed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, welcome back! I have gotten so much amazing(!) feedback about chapter one that I was immediately motivated to write chapter two, and so I did! Thank you for your support and enjoy!

“Doctor Diaz, do you have a moment?” Daisy asked, after she had knocked on the frosted glass wall of the medic bay. The dark-skinned doctor looked up, her braids dancing on her shoulders and she gave a small smile and a nod, “Yes, I was just finishing up some paperwork of the monthly physicals…” she said as she capped her pen and placed the clipboard down onto one of the trays next to her. “What can I do for you?” she said with a smile.

Daisy walked in, and closed the sliding door behind her. She suddenly felt nervous as she stepped in, wringing her hands as she stood awkwardly by, “I just found out that I am pregnant.” She uttered.

Doctor Diaz blinked twice, and gave her a nod with a soft smile, “Congratulations! Can I ask how you found out?” and gestured for Daisy to sit down on one of the stools. Daisy silently complied and gave a smile back, “Doctor Simmons did a blood work analysis for me, and confirmed my suspicion.”

Diaz nodded, “Okay, good. A blood test is the most accurate way to find out. How’re you feeling?”

Daisy sighed, scratching her eyebrow, “Tired, nauseous, bit of a headache but overall, I am fine. I was just wondering because obviously we are in space, if we are equipped to handle a pregnancy on board, so we can continue the mission?”

She could see Diaz frown a little, deep in thought, “We do have an ultrasound machine on board, that we normally use for potential internal bleeding or other injuries, so we can use that to check on the fetus. We don’t have the standard prenatal vitamins, that are required to keep you and the fetus healthy, but I do have several different tablets that we can combine, so you’ll have enough folic acid, magnesium and iron in your system,” she thought out loud, and paused for a few seconds, “I must tell you that even though I am a trained doctor, I am not an obstetrician, so you need to be comfortable with that. If you are, I can of course study up a bit more. But agent Johnson, I do not advice to stay longer on this ship than the end of your second trimester…”

Daisy shook her head, “I am not planning to, I want to be back on earth by then. But I don’t want to derail the mission just yet after so much progress has been made. It would set us back by months… and please call me Daisy.” She answered with a quick smile.

Diaz nodded and smiled back, “Well okay Daisy, if you feel confident to do this, and trust me, then I think we will be fine.” She said with a reassuring smile, “How’s agent Sousa handling it?” she asked as she cocked an eyebrow. The doctor had already noticed the sparkly new addition on her patient’s finger the minute she walked in, but didn’t feel it was right to mention it.

Daisy smiled, thinking back of her goofy boyfr-, no scrap that, _fiancé,_ “He was shocked at first, but over the moon.” _Literally,_ she thought.

“That’s good to hear.” Diaz said. The pair remained silent for a few seconds, until doctor Diaz cleared her throat, “Do you know how far along you are? We measure pregnancy from the first day of your last period, if that helps.”

Daisy pulled her phone from her back pocket, and opened the calendar app, where she recorded her periods, “It’s been a little over six weeks now, I think.”

“Okay, so let’s say six… we can do an ultrasound to confirm it. But I have just closed the medical –“

Daisy shook her head, “No, no it’s fine. I can come swing by tomorrow; I’ll take Sousa too. Can you ease his mind a little? He thinks ultrasounds are unsafe.” She said with a chuckle, thinking back of his worried face, when she told him what an ultrasound entailed.

Diaz chuckled too, “Sure. I can receive you two around seven in the morning, is that okay?”

“Perfect.” Daisy breathed out, “Thank you. And I’d appreciate if this remained a secret, I don’t want to alarm anyone on the ship, just yet.”

“No of course, no problem! If you have questions, or you’re not feeling well, or are worried, you can always swing by, okay? Even at night! You know where my bunk is.”

Daisy smiled at the doctor, she had known her as an agent, for quite a while, but wasn’t aware that she had been medically trained. Simmons had personally selected her for the space mission, and Daisy loved her friendly, yet professional demeanor, “Thank you.” She simply answered, “I’ll let you go back to work.” They said their goodbyes and Daisy headed back to the bunk.

* * *

Daisy entered their bunk where Sousa was already in his sleepwear. He was wearing comfy checkered flannel pajama pants, and a simple grey shirt that clung to his biceps, which Daisy appreciated with a soft hum. He looked to be deep in thought, his eyebrows knitted together, as he was scrolling on the tablet in his hands. As soon as he noticed her, he dropped it in his lap and looked at her curiously, “ _And_?”

Daisy closed the door behind her, not wanting some random agent picking up on their secret, “Doctor Diaz says that we have enough equipment and supplies to stay on board, and have a safe pregnancy.”

Sousa nodded, and let out a deep breath, “That’s good to hear. I am glad.”

Inspired by Daniel, she decided to slip into her nightwear too, and she made a beeline for the bathroom. She disappeared through the door of the en suite, while continuing their conversation, “Diaz told me we could come by around seven, and do a check-up.”

“A check-up?” Sousa repeated a little louder so she could hear him.

Daisy poked her head through the open bathroom door, “Yes, to do an ultrasound so we can check if the baby is healthy, and to find out exactly how far along I am.” She answered him, and disappeared behind the door again.

Sousa frowned and sighed. There was so much to catch-up to in the twenty-first century, _especially_ medically. In his day, if a woman were to be pregnant, there was no way to ensure the health, or know how the baby was doing, you’d just found out when it was born, and then deal with it.

When Daisy had gone to the doctor, he had taken the opportunity to check the Internet. He discovered that there had been a lot of progress made in the last few decades, which he was happy about but it was also all just so _daunting_ , and he brushed his hand through his hair.

Daisy came back into their bedroom wearing his blue button-up shirt, and the make-up scrubbed from her face. She looked at him through the mirror of the vanity, as she pulled her hair in a high ponytail. “Are you, okay?”

“Yeah, just a bit overwhelmed, I guess.”

Daisy breathed out, “Same here.” And send him a smile.

Sousa then tilted his head, and smiled back at her. His shirt on her small frame billowed out as she held her arms above her head as she was fastening her hair. And for a second he could imagine her with a baby bump underneath the fabric, instead of just air.

“What?” she answered, and dropped her arms to her side.

“I am just trying to picture you with… you know –“ and made a gesture, implying a baby bump.

Daisy chuckled, “Throw me that pillow.” And pointed at one of the many throw pillows next to the bed.

“Why?”

“Just throw me.”

Daniel threw her one of the pillows, which Daisy was easily able to catch. She then proceeded to push it underneath the shirt she was wearing, and adjusted it, making it look like she had a (very lumpy) baby bump. She pulled the fabric of her shirt taut over the pillow, and held it in place by folding her hand underneath it. She placed the other hand on her arched back, to exaggerate the ‘pregnant lady pose’.

It was meant as a joke, a big smile on her face. But Sousa looked at her with so much wonder and awe, that she blinked, and took a good look at her own reflection in the mirror for the first time. She let out a soft gasp, even though the pillow wasn’t a convincing bump by any means, with a little imagination it did show her a glimpse of her near future, and it suddenly became _very_ real.

“Well that’s…” she cleared her throat, “strange.” and let go of the fabric clutched in her hand, the pillow dropping to her feet.

Sousa had a soft smile on his face, “I can’t wait.”

Daisy stared at the pillow at her feet for a few seconds, but quickly snapped out of her thoughts by shaking her head, and got into bed next to Sousa. She dropped the makeshift bump next to the other throw pillows on the floor. “I guess it hasn’t really hit me, yet.” She said almost in a whisper.

Sousa pulled her into his arms, and she rested her head against his chest, letting out a soft sigh. She could hear the thump of his heartbeat beneath her ear, steady and comforting. “We’ll just take it one step at a time.” he answered her, feeling the rumble of his deep voice vibrating through his chest.

Daisy pushed herself up, and sat up a little, her hand still placed on his chest. The glint of the ring around her finger catching her eye, and she swallowed, “The funny thing is… I am still waiting for the moment that I am _freaking out_ over this, but with you, I -“ she shook her head, realizing how sappy it must sound, and shrugged, “I am just… _not_.”

“Daisy –“ he said with a smile.

Daisy shook her head, “Of course I am scared, overwhelmed, nervous, _nauseous…_ but I just think we are, you know, solid.”

“I do too.” He simply answered.

“Good, because you already asked me to marry you, and I am not giving you your ring back.” She joked, cocking her eyebrow.

He dramatically sighed, “Okay, well I guess you can keep it then…” he said and ended his sentence with a smirk.

Daisy huffed and let herself drop back onto his chest again, curling into his side again, “Dork.”

* * *

Daisy sat down on the examination table, her socked feet dangling off the edge. She looked nervously at Sousa for a second, who was seated next to her on a chair. He looked back at her with a reassuring smile, even though she knew he was masking his nerves for her. Doctor Diaz in the mean time was prepping the ultrasound machine, getting it ready for the sonogram. “Okay if you’d like to lie down for me, and pull your shirt up and leggings down, then we can take a look,” she said with a comforting smile.

Daisy silently obeyed and pulled the elastic of her leggings’ waistband down, and tucked her shirt underneath her chest. Her stomach muscles contracted as the cool gel was applied to her bare skin. Diaz murmured an apology for the coldness of it, and placed the probe onto her still very flat abdomen.

“Were it under ideal circumstances, I would’ve preferred to use a endovaginal ultrasound for more accuracy. But because you’re already around six weeks, this will probably do the trick.” Doctor Diaz commented, and moved the probe around with a serious expression on her face. The screen was not turned to the couple yet, so Daisy had no idea what was going on, until Diaz’s face relaxed and a small smile appeared, “Okay, let’s take a look.” She said and pushed a few buttons, typed something down, and pushed the screen around, so the both of them could see.

Sousa’s eyes went wide as saucers as he watched the blurry black-and-white image in front of him. Daisy just frowned at the fuzzy mess, trying to make sense of the image.

“Okay, well you see this,” Diaz said as she made a semi-circle on the screen with her index finger, “This is your uterine wall.”

Daisy nodded as she felt Sousa’s hand suddenly grasp hers, lacing his fingers with hers.

“This is the gestational sack, and this…” she said with a smile, “ _this_ is your baby.” And pointed to a little white bean looking shape, encapsulated by the darkness of her uterus.

Daisy gasped, “That’s the baby?” she softly said, and quickly glanced at Sousa, whose eyes were still glued on the screen.

Diaz nodded, “It’s still very small, not much bigger than a blueberry at this stage.”

The couple blinked, totally in awe of seeing their baby for the first time. Diaz gave them a moment to take it all in before speaking up again, “I think you’re a little over seven weeks, rather than six, though.” She said pensively, as she made quick work of measuring the fetus on the screen.

Daisy slowly nodded, her eyes still focused on the screen, “Okay, makes sense my period has never been really regular.” she murmured.

Diaz nodded, and continued, “So here’s the head, and these are the arm and leg buds,” she said as she pointed and tapped on the screen. Daisy and Sousa did their best to make out what was what, while squinting at the screen.

“And you see that flicker? That’s the heart,” Doctor Diaz pointed out with a smile. They both gasped in wonder, seeing the quick movement of the heart, “I can’t promise you anything, but there is a chance we can hear the heartbeat. It’s still early, but…” as she moved the probe again, and typed something on the computer, before the room was filled with a fast rhythmic thumping sound.

Sousa’s jaw almost dropped to the floor as he heard it, his grip almost crushing Daisy’s hand, “That’s the _heart_?” he finally managed to utter.

Diaz smiled at the couple, “Sure is. Sounds perfect to me.”

“It’s so _fast_.” He said in awe.

“Well, it’s still very tiny. It’ll slow down once they grow.”

Sousa suddenly sat up in his chair, his back rigid, “ _they?”_ he repeated. His eyes went wide in shock as he looked at the doctor.

Daisy stared at him with a frown, until she figured why he looked so jarred. “Calm down, ‘ _they’_ as in a gender neutral term, not as in multiple.” She assured him, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.

Sousa slumped back down into his chair, and let out a relieved breath, which made Daisy chuckle.

Doctor Diaz smiled too, and shook her head, “Don’t worry, it’s just one in there, I promise.”

“Okay good, I mean…” feeling a little embarrassed now, “Not that I would mind, or that it’s bad that -“

Daisy shook her head, “No, I agree, one at a time, _please_.” She said with a snicker. Reassuring him by once again giving his hand a gentle squeeze. “But everything is… okay, right?” Daisy asked, the thumping still echoing through the room.

“Everything looks good, there is just not much to see yet. It’s only around 12 mm or .51 inches.”

“ _Wow_ …” Sousa said in amazement, which made Daisy smile. His reaction made her think back of when she showed him that picture that she had taken of him with her phone. Back when they were still time traveling.

“I’ll print you some pictures, okay?”

Daisy nodded, and smiled, as doctor Diaz pushed more buttons and the machine started making sounds. Diaz pulled the probe away, and the sound of the steady thumping of the baby’s heart faded out, much to the couples’ dismay. Diaz handed her a paper towel to clean the gel off her stomach. And Daisy pulled her leggings up, and her shirt down again. Eagerly awaiting the pictures.

Daisy gazed at Sousa, who had been staring into nothing, deep in thought, and she wondered what he was thinking about. Until her own thoughts were interrupted by Diaz, who announced that the pictures were done, and handed them the strip of black-and-white photos to take back with them.

“Thank you so much, doctor Diaz.” Daisy said.

“You can call me Alex, okay?” she answered with a smile, “And thank you, this is way more fun than the routine pulled shoulders, and complaints of sore necks, anyway.” The doctor joked.

Daisy smiled in return, “I bet.”

Sousa helped her sit up, ever the gentleman, and back onto her feet. With a few more ‘thank yous’ and ‘byes‘ the couple left to go back to their bunk, with the pictures safely tucked inside Sousa’s shirt pocket.

* * *

Sousa opened the door of their bunk for her. They both got in, and he silently closed it behind them. Daisy cleared her throat, attempting to break the silence, “So, not so scary those ultrasounds, huh?” she tried to joke.

Daniel sent her a small smile, and took the pictures from his shirt pocket, and unfolded them in his hands. There were three of them, almost identical. “It sounded more invasive than it was.” He muttered.

Daisy nodded, she could understand that, without having previous knowledge of what a sonogram entailed, it could sound very sci-fi-ish. And so she didn’t blame him for his earlier apprehension.

She walked up to him and put her arm around his waist, he freed his arm and pulled her closer to his side. They both stared at the pictures in his hands for a while, until Daisy whispered, “You’ve been very silent.”

Sousa looked up from the picture and into her eyes. He slowly leaned over and captured her lips with his. “I guess, I just –“ he hummed, trying to come up with words, “It might sound crazy, but I already feel like I would do _anything_ for this little… bean.” Daisy softly smiled, and nodded, knowing exactly how he felt. “I mean, look at that… that’s our _baby_.” He said once again in awe.

Daisy then swallowed, and quickly glanced at the clock. They had still time left before the morning gathering, so she decided to take this opportunity to tell him what had been on her mind. “We need to talk.” She softly said, and pulled him on the bed, so they could both sit.

Sousa looked at her puzzled, but let her tug him along.

“We haven’t really discussed this before, so I want to let you know that there is a _high_ probability that our baby is also an inhuman, just like I am, Kora is, and my mom was.”

Sousa looked at the picture in his hand, and back into her eyes again, he had a soft smile on his face, “Yeah, I already figured, after you told me your powers are genetic.”

“You’re not bothered by it?”

Sousa frowned, “Why? As long as the kid has our support, and they’re old enough to take on such a responsibility, I don’t see the problem of them having an impressive power, just like their mom.”

Daisy smiled, she couldn’t believe his undying support of her sometimes, his simple belief in her, and leaned in to kiss him again, brushing her hand softly through his hair, “Look at you, using gender neutral terms correctly.”

Sousa smiled proudly, and shrugged, “I was just talking about our future children.”

Daisy’s eyebrows shot up, “Whoa there, Danny-boy, _children?_ Can we focus on this one first, please?”

Sousa grinned, and cocked his eyebrow, and Daisy quickly realized he was just trying to get a rise out of her, “Stop it!” She said with a grin and pushed at his chest with her index finger.

They both laughed for a little while, until Sousa let out a deep breath, “So, what are you going to tell Kora?”

Daisy hummed, “She’ll be quick to notice the engagement ring, so I figure I’ll tell her about that, but I want to wait with the baby news until I am in my second trimester.”

“Right, because the chances of a miscarriage dramatically drops after the thirteenth week…I know.” he said pensively.

Daisy cocked an eyebrow, “How do you even know that?”

Daniel grinned, “Might have done some research, while you were sleeping last night, I used the Google on that tablet thing. There is so much information out there, I stopped when I reached the mucus plug, though.”

Daisy scrunched her nose in unison with his, and let out a chuckle, “Yeah, okay, that’s more than understandable.” As she decided not to correct him _again_ for saying ‘the Google’ instead of just Google.

“I also like the idea of just keeping this between ourselves, our little secret. Only Simmons and Diaz know besides us, and I like to keep it that way for a while.”

Sousa nodded and smiled, “Yeah, I like that too.” He lovingly brushed his hand along her abdomen, and then stretched his limbs with a groan, “Let’s get dressed, shall we?”

Daisy let out a grunt, not really wanting to get out of her comfy leggings and baggy shirt. But she had to be presentable as one of the leaders of Z3, and agreed, “Okay, let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I'll probably do some time-skipping after this chapter, but no worries, nothing crazy! This story is not beta-read and I am not a native English speaker so all mistakes are mine! Comments are VERY much appreciated, I love to hear your thoughts, keeps me motivated! Until next time!
> 
> (Also if you're wondering if doctor Diaz is the same as agent Diaz from season 6, you are correct! I just loved her character and wanted to include her more!)
> 
> Tumblr.com/marvelsquake


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Welcome back, how are you holding up after not having an aos episode this week? I was pretty bummed so I wanted to finish this chapter and share it with you guys to hopefully soften the pain just a little :) I hope you enjoy! There has been a slight time jump since chapter two, but nothing major! 
> 
> If you want, you can follow me on: tumblr.com/marvelsquake

Daisy let out another yawn, and rubbed her eyes. Early mornings were still _not_ her thing, but at least she wasn’t as bone tired as she had been for _months_. Her first trimester had been _rough_ , it didn’t start out that bad, besides some minor nausea and headaches, she was doing fine. But as the weeks progressed she started to throw up more and more. She also developed a tendency to fall asleep, _everywhere_ , which wasn’t great with a whole team depending on her command. So when she finally reached her second trimester, she was relieved that her energy level returned to normal, and not every smell from the kitchen made her queasy, or want to throw up.

Daniel had already showered, and was getting dressed as he sat on their bed. Meanwhile Daisy had stumbled into the bathroom, taking her turn to go for a shower. She let out a sigh, and pulled her baggy shirt up, but as the shirt was halfway over her head, she stopped mid-motion. She frowned at her reflection, and slowly dropped her shirt back, and pushed the fabric up just below her breasts. She turned to her side, frowning even deeper. With the palm of her hand she followed the sudden curve of her belly, that had seemingly appeared overnight, “Daniel?” She called out. But he only hummed in response. Daisy was getting impatient, and with a grunt she called again, “SOUSA!”

She heard him get up from the bed, and he came in running, sliding with his socked feet over the tiled floor of the bathroom. “What’s wrong?!“ he responded with a worried expression on his face, and she felt guilty that she had made him think something bad had happened. But his concerned expression quickly morphed into a smile, as he took in the sight of Daisy with her shirt bunched up above her stomach. The sudden roundness of her belly was subtle, maybe not even noticeable to anyone else, but for the couple it was the first sign of their baby making its presence known.

“You have a _bump.._.” He said in awe, and quickly closed the distance between them. She let out a soft hum as she felt Daniel’s chest press against her back, with his chin above her shoulder. He made eye contact with her through the mirror, “Look at that,” he said with a smile and gently placed the palm of his hand on the almost invisible swell of her belly, and brushed his thumb along the curve.

Daisy let out a shuttering breath, and softly smiled, “It was just suddenly… _there,”_ she breathed out and placed her hand atop of his.

Sousa hummed in response, and kissed her neck, “I guess this is real, huh?”

Daisy let out a chuckle, “ _Very_ real.”

“How’re you feeling about it?”

“Good,” she breathed out, and laced her fingers with his, “But, I think it’s time we tell Kora.”

Sousa nodded, “Yeah, I agree.”

They both fell silent, still taking in the overnight change of her body. The shock of it had worn down, and been replaced by a fondness she couldn’t really describe. It was weird seeing herself this way, she had of course been expecting it, she just wasn’t prepared how it made her feel. Daisy then let out a sigh, and untangled herself from her fiancé, “I really need to get ready, we’re already late for the morning briefing.”

Sousa regretfully let go of her. The fabric of her shirt falling over her belly again, disguising the bump as if it were never there. “Yeah, you’re right,” he agreed, and quickly pecked her on the lips.

“Can you get me my black hoody?” she asked, as she undressed herself to shower. Daniel hummed in response, and walked to the closet, grabbing her favorite hoody and draping it over the chair for her. He then sat down on the edge of the bed, and blinked a few times, before he slowly started to change his socks that had become wet from standing in a puddle on the bathroom floor. He loved seeing that tiny little bump for the first time, but it did make him worry how they were going to manage it all, in _space_ nonetheless. There were so many uncertainties, so many risks involved, and even though he agreed it was the right decision to stay on mission for a while longer, he now wasn’t as certain anymore. He let out a deep breath, and shook his head, trying to push his worries away, and put his shoes on over his clean socks. Ready for another workday in space.

* * *

“Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to swing by tonight? Somewhere after dinner, maybe we can watch a movie or something?” Daisy said, trying to sound as casual as she could.

Kora looked up from the controls in front, to her sister. They were both in the control room, lounging a little, as the flying had been pretty straight forward for quite some time, “How about Danny-boy?” she asked.

Daisy shrugged. He did _not_ like that that name had stuck, but somewhat tolerated it when Kora called him that ‘ _because she was family’_ he had said. Daisy blamed her hormones for later crying over it.

“He’s having to do some work, and I want to hang out with my sister.” She said, and put her hands in the pouch of the hoody she was wearing. She had been nervous all day that suddenly people would notice that there had been the smallest of bumps forming between her hipbones. But of course nobody had, as she was wearing quite a baggy hoody, that wasn’t unusual for her to wear.

Kora nodded, and shot her a smile, “I’d love that, and I’ll get the popcorn!”

Daisy groaned, “Warmed in the microwave, I hope?” Remembering to a few months ago, when Kora was still trying to get a hold of her powers, thinking it was the _greatest_ idea to practice them on the popcorn cornels. They burned, and flew _everywhere._ She occasionally still found an unpopped cornel somewhere behind her bed.

Kora huffed, and rolled her eyes, “Of course not! You don’t have to keep repeating it, I said I was sorry!”

Daisy chuckled. It was actually pretty funny, and one of the first times she really felt like she had started bonding with her sister. They weren’t walking on eggshells around each other anymore, but instead were really becoming sisters, including the fighting and bickering. But she wouldn’t have it any other way. “I know, I know, I am just teasing,” She said as she pushed herself out of the chair, “I’ll see you at eight?”

Kora hummed, “Sure, and it is my time to pick the movie! Your picks are always lame…” she said as Daisy walked away. She just shook her head; she knew they probably weren’t actually going to see a movie. But she needed to have an excuse to lure her sister into her bunk for some one-on-one time, to finally reveal the big news

* * *

Daisy looked at her fiancé, while he traced along the blurry edges of the image with his finger. He had that smile on his face again, that seemed to be only reserved for her, and now their unborn baby too, and it caused a lump to form in her throat. There had been a lot changes since their first sonogram at seven weeks. It was no longer a tiny bean tucked away in the dark, but now an actual distinguishable human being.

He looked up from the picture to her, a soft smile on his face, “I can’t get enough of that side profile, look at that nose, and those tiny hands…” he breathed out. Daisy joined him on the bed and smiled, there was still not that much to see. The baby was still very small at fourteen weeks, not much bigger than a fist. But it had been amazing to see all the changes since the first sonogram appointment.

She had convinced Diaz that morning to do a sonogram, so she had a nice picture to gift Kora along with the big news. Diaz had complied with a mock sigh, and did a quick sonogram for the special occasion. She and Diaz had become great friends over the last few months. It was nice to have a doctor she was friendly with on board, who could answer her questions, stop her from worrying too much, and guide her through this pregnancy.

“The baby is really moving a lot in there,” Daisy said, snaking her hand beneath her hoody and brushing it along the curve of her belly. Since a bump had formed, she had the tendency to run her hand along the curve, almost to check if it was still there, “Can’t feel a thing, though.”

Daniel hummed in response. He couldn’t be there for the second sonogram that morning, which he was a bit miffed about, but he agreed it was nice to have a better picture for Kora to have.

“Hey, you can be there for the 20-week one, you know that right?” Daisy said, leaning her head against his shoulder and looping her arm through his, “Diaz even said we could find out the gender by then.”

“Do we want to?” he wondered, “I kind of like the idea of it being a surprise.”

Daisy squinted, “Aren’t we a little done with the surprises? I mean this whole baby has been one.” She joked.

Daniel shrugged, and looked back at the picture in his hand, “Nothing wrong with good surprises, that’s how I met you.”

Daisy let out a shuttering breath, _stupid hormones_ , she thought and quickly wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand, giving his shoulder a nudge, “Don’t you dare make me weepy again, Kora is going to be here in ten minutes, and you need to get outta here.”

Daniel let out a grunt, “Alright, but I am taking this one with me,” he said, and tapped on the picture and put it in inner pocket of his jacket. They had a whole string of pictures, almost identical to each other, so there were plenty left.

“I snapped a picture of one of them, and send it to Jemma. She is freaking out, she can’t wait to be an aunt.” Daisy said with a wistful smile, she missed her old team, her _family_ , “We need to figure out a nice way to tell them, but everyone is so scattered.”

“We will think of something.” He answered her, and placed a kiss on her lips. Daisy moaned, she suddenly felt her desire grow, and deepened the kiss. Daniel seemed to be surprised by it, but wasn’t about to complain. He cupped her face in his one hand, and moved the other to her side, snaking his hand beneath her hoody and roaming her body, brushing his thumb along the curve of her belly.

Daisy was about to straddle him, until a familiar voice boomed through their bunk, “You guys are so gross,” Kora said with an amused smile on her face. The couple parted immediately and looked sheepishly at Daisy’s sister, who was stood in the doorway with a bowl of popcorn in her arms.

Daisy let out a huff, “And you can knock!” she said, and let go of the lapels of Daniel’s shirt that were still clutched in her hands.

“The door was already ajar! I thought you had left it open for me!” Kora protested.

“Oh,” Daisy simply answered. Realizing they left it open, as Daniel was only supposed to come in and out of the bunk, but had turned into more, “Sorry, come in.”

Kora chuckled, “You sure you guys don’t want some alone time?”

Daniel had a slight blush on his face, and cleared his throat, “No, you two have fun. I need to be at the controls anyway.” And pecked Daisy on the mouth, a chaster kiss this time, and send her a subtle wink.

“Alright, good luck, Danny-boy,” Kora said, as she replaced him on the bed by plopping down onto the matrass next to Daisy. Daniel just gave them a nod, and disappeared through the door, closing it behind him this time around.

Kora had wordlessly turned on the TV, and scrolled through Netflix while popping popcorn into her mouth, “I was thinking we could watch something dumb, like a rom-com or something,” she mused.

Daisy hummed, “Sure, but first I got you something,” she said, trying to not show how nervous she actually was.

Kora looked up from the screen to her sister and frowned, “For me?”

Daisy hummed again. She reached for the drawer of her nightstand, and pulled out a simple envelope. Were they on earth, she might’ve gone a bit more all out with the reveal, but in space there only so many resources, so a simple envelope sufficed.

“What’s this?” Kora answered, and took the envelope from Daisy, “Am I getting a raise?” she joked.

Daisy rolled her eyes, “Just open it.”

Kora opened the envelope with a slight frown, and gasped when she was met with the grainy black and white sonogram picture. She looked to Daisy with a smile, and let out a relieved breath, “Oh, I am so glad you’re _finally_ telling me…” and went in for a hug.

Daisy reciprocated the hug, but then pulled her sister back and frowned, “What do you mean?”

Kora stared at the picture in her hands, “You guys really haven’t been that subtle, you know. I thought you two were like trained spies.”

Daisy frowned, of all the ways she had imagined her sister would react; this hadn’t been one of them, “ _How_?” she asked astounded.

“Well first off, the throwing up, and not drinking coffee kind of gave it away. Also you and Daniel are always touching your stomach when you think no one is watching, and your fiancé forgot to delete his Internet history. It was full on display when I asked to borrow his tablet for a minute,” she said with a grin, “You’re also hanging with Diaz a _lot_ more.”

Daisy sighed, “Do you think others noticed?”

Kora shrugged, “No, don’t think so, but I don’t know.” She could see Daisy was feeling deflated, and she felt bad. “Hey, but I am so happy for you guys! And I get to be an auntie! I can’t wait to meet my niece!”

Daisy perked up a little again and smiled, “Thank you, we don’t know the gender yet, though. It’s too early.”

Kora frowned at that, “Of course you know the gender! Didn’t Jiaying…” she could see pain flicker behind Daisy’s eyes, and paused. “I am sorry, I thought Jiaying told you, it’s like a family thing.”

“I didn’t have much time with our mom,” Daisy said, trying not to sound too jealous. It was still a sore subject between the two of them, and something they mostly avoid talking about.

“I know, I am sorry. It’s just a story she told me all the time. I thought she would’ve told you about it too.”

Daisy simply shook her head.

Kora breathed out, “Well the story goes that our ancestors, for generations, only have had daughters. There hasn’t been a single male child born in _hundreds_ of years in our bloodline. And every single one of them has been an Inhuman, like we are. It’s how it is passed down.”

Daisy blinked, “I didn’t know.” And she let out a sigh, rubbing her face, “I did not envision the gender reveal to go like this.” She halfheartedly joked.

“I’m sorry,” Kora said genuinely.

“Any more family lore I got to look out for?” she asked, with a sigh.

Kora slowly shook her head, “Not really, just… that. Are you okay?”

Daisy sighed, “Yeah, it’s not that I am not unhappy that I am having a girl. I just didn’t know my baby was like ‘predestined’.” And absentmindedly rubbed her barely there bump. Taking in the fact that she was having a daughter, like her family apparently had for _generations_.

“Hey,” Kora said, and put her hand on her sister’s knee, “If we know one thing for sure, _nothing_ is predestined. Look at us! Look at your baby’s father, look at where we are! We all shouldn’t be here, yet we defied the odds!”

Daisy softly smiled, “You’re right.” And sighed, looking into her sister’s eyes, ”Maybe we should talk about family more often,” and folded her legs, so she could sit cross-legged.

Kora shrugged, “Honestly, it was just mostly me and my - our mom.”

“What about your dad?” Daisy asked curiously, as had never heard Kora talk about her father.

“Never really had one, he left when I was barely three. Jiaying kept her gift a secret from him. I think she really loved my father. And when she finally mustered up the courage to tell him that she was an inhuman, it freaked him out and he left us.”

Daisy blinked, “I am so sorry.”

Kora shook her head, “No, it’s okay. My mom and I, we had it good, we were like a team.” She said with a wistful smile, “I wish we could’ve grown up together, though, like kid sisters. Playing around in Afterlife was the best, but a bit lonely as the only kid around.”

Daisy smiled, “Me too. Maybe there is a timeline out there that does.” She said with a shrug, silently rooting for those two sisters who _did_ have the chance to grow up together.

“You know,” Kora said with a sigh, “I don’t even have a last name. Jiaying didn’t either. I don’t know if that was like an Afterlife thing, or my mom just didn’t want to hear my dad’s name ever again.”

“I didn’t have one either, until I found mine.” Daisy said with a smile, and then frowned, deep in thought, “You know, if you want one, you can have mine. I know we don’t share the same father but we _are_ family…”

Kora blinked, “ _Johnson_?”

Daisy hummed, “Only if you want to! You can also, of course, think of a kickass one of your own, like –“

Kora shook her head, “No, I like Johnson.”

Daisy smiled, “I do too.”

Kora smiled back at her, but then frowned, “But wait, aren’t you gonna change it? Now that you’re getting married to Sousa?”

Daisy shook her head, “No, it took me a while to find my last name, get to know my father, find my identity. I feel like I earned Johnson, it’s part of me. Of my journey.”

“I like that.” Kora said.

Daisy smiled, and gave her sister a nod, “So, what movie did you pick out?”

Kora chuckled, “ _Clueless_.”

Daisy huffed, “Again?” and rolled her eyes.

“You know you love it.” She said and wiggled her eyebrows, as she reached for the popcorn again, shuffling a handful of it into her mouth.

* * *

Daisy sighed, after the movie was done, she and Kora decided to talk a little more. Kora told her some nice tidbits about Jiaying, and living at Afterlife. But both sisters had gotten quite tired, and Kora had wished her a good night, and retreated to her own bunk. Not long after, Sousa had come back covered in what he called ‘space goo’ but was probably, by the looks of it, some sort of mechanical spill. He had excused himself, and headed straight to the shower to clean himself up.

It was a rare moment for her to be alone, and her heart just felt so full. It was nice to have a sister to share things with, a _fiancé_ who was always there for her, and now a baby on the way. It made the whole being in space thing feel a _little_ less crazy.

Daisy suddenly remembered what Kora said about Daniel’s search history, and her curiosity got the best of her. She rummaged through the drawer of the nightstand on his side of the bed, and pulled the tablet out. It was their shared tablet, but for Daniel it was the only technological thing he really got a hang of. So she just let him have it, while she used her phone or laptop. Daisy was easily able to unlock it, no fingerprint or password needed, and she pulled up the browser, and looked to what he had been searching for.

She softly smiled. It was honestly adorable how formal his web searches were. They all had correct punctuation, grammar, and everything. Nothing like hers, where she would just type in some words, and hoped Google would bring up the right pages. She was almost surprised his questions didn’t end with a ‘please’ or a ‘thank you’.

She started to scroll through them, feeling a little bit like she was overstepping, but she was pretty sure he wouldn’t mind. He had been really open to her, with his questions about everything related to parenthood, as he was a bit insecure about being a father in modern times. The searches ranged from questions about changing diapers, how to hold a baby, birth stories, to ultrasound side effects, and other medical questions. She softly smiled as she pulled up a chart with a weekly guide, and how big the baby was in fruit sizes. Now she knew why he called the baby a navel orange that morning.

She scrolled for a little while longer, but looked up from the screen as she heard Daniel emerge from the bathroom in his usual sleepwear. A small gush of steam following him into the room, as he dried his hair with a towel. “That’s better,” he breathed out and draped the damp towel over the chair, and joined her in the bed, giving her a quick peck on the lips. “So how did it go?” he asked, pulling the covers over his lap.

“Good, she is really happy for us,” Daisy said with a nod, “But apparently it wasn’t much of a surprise, she told me she already knew for months.”

“ _Months_?” Daniel repeated, “How?”

“Because I threw up a lot, didn’t drink coffee, and she had accidentally stumbled upon your search history,” she said with a chuckle and held up the iPad in her hands.

“Search history?” he said confused.

“Yeah, it shows what you’ve searched on the Internet. I’ve read it, it’s cute.”

Daniel groaned, slightly embarrassed, “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” He breathed out.

Daisy shook her head, and curled into his side. It was sweet to see his flustered face, “It’s okay, I am glad she knows. We never really spoke about everything that happened, with family and stuff. It was nice to bond over not having a dad… I offered her my last name.” she ended on with a chuckle.

“Really, Kora Johnson?”

Daisy hummed, “She was honored.”

“Two agent Johnson’s on a small ship, won’t be confusing at all.” He joked.

“It’s gonna be _fine_.” She dismissed him, but then swallowed. She contemplated not telling him what Kora told her about their weird shared heritage, but decided he had the right to, even if it ruined the surprise.

“She told me something, though, something I had no idea of prior,” and she sat up again, looking into his eyes.

Sousa looked back at her curiously, silently encouraging her to go on.

“Apparently, being inhuman has been passed down for generations in my family. But only by the women…”

Sousa cocked an eyebrow, “Really? So you’re saying, if we were to have a boy, he wouldn’t get the inhuman gene?”

Daisy shook her head, “No, it means that…” she cleared her throat, “In my family there hasn’t been a male child born, for like _hundreds_ of years.”

Sousa’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, “ _Hundreds_ of years?”

“Yeah.”

“So that means,” he said as he looked at her midsection, “that we’re having a girl?” and then a big smile bloomed on his face.

Daisy hummed in response, “Yeah, or we just so happen to break a millennia old tradition, but I think that’s unlikely.” She said, with a sound that was somewhere between a chuckle and a groan.

“But a little girl? That’s amazing!” he said, his smile growing even wider.

“Really, you’re not disappointed?”

“No! Are you kidding? A little girl that might look like _you_? How could I?”

Daisy shook her head, she couldn’t believe this man, and sat up to kiss him. “I am sorry for ruining the surprise.” She said as they parted

Daniel shook his head, “You were right, we’ve had enough surprises. Like being drenched in space goo,” he said with a shudder, thinking back only moments ago when the sticky stuff had stuck to his clothes and hair.

Daisy let out a chuckle, and shrugged; “I would’ve liked to have a little boy, with your dark curls and eyes…” she smiled wistfully.

“Hey, chin up! Maybe after a few tries, we’ll manage to have a boy,” he said with a grin and cocked his eyebrow.

“Shut up!” she groaned, “We’re not rabbits!”

“Are you sure? I believe Kora said something different once.”

Daisy groaned, thinking back when her sister had caught them making out, mid-undress. “I hate you,” she breathed out, and curled back into his side, resting her head on his chest.

“I know,” he whispered and kissed atop of her head, curling his arm around her. His hand coming to rest on her bump where their unborn _daughter_ was safely tucked away, “I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, it's a girl! I felt like Daisy and Kora deserved some sisterly bonding and hopefully you liked my addition to Daisy's heritage! After this there will be a bit more plot, I just love writing fluff but I want it to have a bit more structure. If there is anything you'd like to see in this story (regarding pregnancy, space travel, sisterly bonding, dousy stuff, the baby etc.) please let me know, I like to hear from you guys and your input is greatly appreciated!
> 
> I've seen some other fics around with the same kind of premise as mine, but I consciously haven't read them as I am afraid I will subconsciously remember something and add it to my story. 
> 
> So again, thank you so much for reading and your support, I love it! And check out hecckyeah's amazing art they created for this fic on either their or my tumblr!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back everyone! Gotta say, I am really enjoying writing this story. Everyone is being absolutely lovely, and I am kind of overwhelmed by all the love! So I am super thankful, and enjoy!
> 
> You can follow me on: tumblr.com/marvelsquake

“You’re staring,” Daisy said with a soft grunt, and slowly opened her eyes. Daniel let out a huff, and met her dark eyes. There was no sunlight to wake up to every morning, that’s just how life was in space. But SHIELD had developed a morning light simulator, that would slowly get brighter with the morning hours, and stop at a comfortable glow and fade back out at night. It was mainly used to have a bit more of a daily structure, but also to combat vitamin D deficiency, and to simply improve everyone’s mood on the ship. It was still really dim at this time of day, just the faintest of light. So they could tell it was still very early, without looking at the clock.

Daisy and Sousa were lying in bed, their legs entangled, with her arm resting on his side, and her belly firmly pressed against his. “Why are you even awake?” Daisy croaked, and pulled her arm back, lazily rubbing her face.

Daniel let out a chuckle, adoring her sleepy morning face. “I was asleep, until I felt some rather strong kicks against my stomach, I think our daughter wanted to say good morning.”

Daisy sighed, and sleepily smiled, “At least she’s kicking you for a change.” She said with a grunt, and moved her hand between their stomachs, touching where the kicks were particularly strong, and with her index finger pressed back.

Daniel followed her hand, searching for the jabs that had awoken him. It was still so magical to him, to feel the baby kick and somersault in there. It took a little while, longer than all those websites claimed, before he could feel his daughter for the first time. Daisy had already noticed the soft butterfly-like movements, but it took a while before the kicks were strong enough for him to feel. They had been mid-breakfast, when suddenly Daisy pulled his arm towards her stomach, and placed his hand on her then smaller bump. He had dropped his spoon back into the bowl as he felt it. It was a strong jab, right against the palm of his hand. He couldn’t believe it, until another one followed and another one. It was the cutest thing he had ever experienced, and he looked at her with so much awe, she couldn’t help but kiss him right then, right there.

Daisy’s belly had become more pronounced since then, as she was nearing the end of her second trimester. Being only in her twenty-sixth week, her bump was still not huge, so besides the baby kicking her insides, she wasn’t really that uncomfortable. But it did become really hard to hide it from her team.

So when even her baggiest of clothes couldn’t disguise her rounded belly anymore, she had decided to come clean, and tell the rest of the crew. The reception from the people on board was… mixed, to say the least. Agent Torres had already suspected something, like Kora had, but chose to not question it. But Agents Abdul and Masters seemed to be _very_ much shocked by the news. All of them, except for Kora and Diaz, felt apprehensive about it and voiced it, which was understandable to Daisy. Were she in their shoes, she probably wouldn’t have liked it either. But she was able to ensure them that she was more than capable to still lead the mission, together with Sousa, and her main focus was still guiding them through galaxies unscathed.

Daniel let go of her bump to lazily stretch his limbs, letting out a big yawn. Before he could suggest going back to sleep, their bunk started to shake violently. Books and trinkets fell down from surfaces, and alarms started blaring to an almost deafening degree. Daisy and Daniel sat up immediately, “Are you doing this?” he practically yelled, with wide eyes and his hands pressed to his ears.

“Of course I am not doing this!” she shouted back. They both jumped off the bed, and quickly pulled the clothes from the day before off of the floor, and hastily put them on. Another violent shake could be felt through the zephyr, and they looked at each other, “This can’t be good.” Daniel grunted, as he put his shoes on.

Daisy hurried out of the bunk, closely followed by Sousa. The hallway was filled with sleepy agents running around. “What’s going on?” Daisy demanded, raising her voice. From the corner of her eye she saw Kora approach her, she looked as white as a sheet, and her dark eyes were panicked. Daisy knew this couldn’t be good, and braised herself for bad news. “What’s going on?” she repeated, as Kora was close enough to hear her.

“I don’t know, we were sailing peacefully, and suddenly there was like this invisible force pulling us in,” They held onto the sides of the wall, as another violent shake rattled the ship. Daniel instinctively put his arm around Daisy, so she wouldn’t fall. But she quickly freed herself from his grasp as she saw another agent come running towards them. He was tapping something on his tablet, and the sound of the alarms quickly faded to a more reasonable decibel, “Abdul, any idea what’s going on?”

“We’ve lost all communications with earth, there’s no signal.” Agent Abdul lamented.

“Internet?” she questioned.

Abdul shook his head, “ _Nothing_.”

Daisy swallowed, and gave a nod. She followed Abdul and Kora to the controls, and looked out. There wasn’t much to see, no flashes or waves, no big black hole, nothing. Yet another shockwave hit them, and she held onto the seat where agent Torres was controlling the ship. “How’s Z3 holding up?” Daisy asked. Torres kept her eyes on the view, her knuckles white from clenching onto the yoke, “Ship’s doing fine, no real damage detected. She’s build to withstand these things.”

Daisy let out a relieved sigh, clutching the seat again after another shock raged through the zephyr.

After two or three more violent shakes, the zephyr seemed to go back to flying smoothly again, and Torres let herself relax back into her seat. She looked up at Daisy, with a puzzled look on her face, “What the _hell_ is going on?”

Daisy breathed out, “I don’t know,” and locked eyes with Sousa, who immediately knew what she was trying to convey, and pulled Abdul with him to go around and check the ship for damage. “Kora, any luck contacting earth again? SHIELD? Anyone?”

Kora shook her head, pulling the headset off her head, and dropping it onto the controls with a huff, “No feedback.”

“ _Damnit_ , everything must be fried.” Daisy cursed under her breath, and rubbed her face. She felt her baby kick up a storm, probably reacting to her elevated heartbeat. She quickly brushed her hand along the curve, hoping to soothe the upset fetus within.

“What is this? Some kind of space Bermuda triangle?” Torres commented, as she brushed her wild curls from her face.

Space had gone eerily silent now, as if they were in some sort of vacuum. No nice looking galaxies, no swirls of colors and stardust. Just darkness, with faraway dots representing stars.

The sound of the alarms had died down to complete silence, and Daisy toggled a switch so the flashing lights returned to normal. She swallowed, and used the ship’s intercom to call everyone to the front. It didn’t take long for all of the agents grouped. Sousa joined Daisy and stood next to her, being her ever-present pillar of strength.

The team was small. It only consisted of seven agents in total, with Kora and Torres as pilots, Diaz for medical, Abdul as the mechanic/engineer, Masters for defense, and her and Sousa in charge of it all. Daisy cleared her throat, folding her arms in front of her chest, resting them above her belly, and she took a deep breath to gather her thoughts. “I know you’re all worried after what just happened, and expecting answers, but for now I can’t give you any. It seems like we have flown into some kind of wormhole that made Z3 act like this, I am not sure. We’ve tried to reach SHIELD back on earth, but it seems like all communications are fried, agent Abdul?”

Abdul looked at her, “I can confirm, the systems are all out.” He said, as he scratched his beard.

“Is it fixable?” Daisy asked curtly.

“I think so, I have not yet determined what the error is, but I will find out.” He answered her with a determined nod.

Daisy hummed, “Good, and the rest of the ship?” she asked, looking at Sousa.

“Nothing, from the outside. Inside some things have fallen over, and the kitchen is a mess, but that’s really it.” He answered her.

Daisy let out a relieved breath, “Diaz? Medic?”

Diaz blinked, “Everything is bolted down, so nothing is broken.”

“Good. Masters?”

“Everything is in check.” He answered her gruffly.

Daisy swallowed, “Okay everyone, let’s get back to work. And find out what’s going on, and fix it. Agent Torres?”

Torres looked up from controls for a second, “Yes?”

“Let’s try and find a friendly planet to land, so we can save some of our energies.”

Torres nodded in response, and focused back on piloting.

“Okay, everyone, get back to work!” Daisy announced, and the agents scurried away, each doing their thing.

Daisy let out a deep sigh, rubbing her forehead, and took a step. She blinked when she suddenly felt herself getting extremely dizzy. Everything seemed to spin around, and her vision became blurry. Daisy quickly held onto Sousa, grasping his shirt to stay upright, as she felt her knees buckle under her own weight.

“Whoa, Daisy. Are you okay?” Daniel asked concerned, and pulled her back up. Daisy blinked and let herself slump against him, “Yeah…” she muttered, and tried to stand up straight again, “Just got very dizzy.”

Sousa eyed Diaz, who came closer, and helped Sousa with holding Daisy upright, “Come with me.” Diaz said.

Daisy shook her head, “I am _fine_.” But as she was about to take another step, to prove that she was indeed fine, she once again felt dizzy, and held onto Sousa’s shirt even tighter.

“You’re _not_ fine.” Daniel said concerned, holding her upright in his arms.

“Come on, Johnson, let’s go. Just to make sure everything is okay.”

Daisy complied with a sigh, and let herself be helped to the medic bay. She could feel the other agents staring, and hated looking weak in front of them.

* * *

“How’re you feeling?” Diaz asked. Daisy had been sat down on an examination table, Sousa still at her side.

“Okay, I think. Only a little lightheaded.” She answered.

Diaz hummed and tore the Velcro of the blood pressure meter from her patient’s arm. “You’re fine. Your blood pressure is a little low, so that explains the dizziness. It is quite common in pregnant women, but you need to stay as calm as you can, and not get dehydrated, okay? Otherwise, you might actually faint.”

Daisy hummed, “Okay,” and pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling a stress headache coming up.

“Normally, I’d say, go outside and get some fresh air,” Diaz tried to joke, “But I would advice against it, right now.”

Daisy mustered up a smile, “Thank you. But I feel fine now, and I need to get back to work.”

“Daisy, let me take lead on this, okay?” Sousa said, rubbing her arm. Daisy looked at him with a scowl, wanting to protest, but Diaz interrupted, “I think that’s wise. Maybe get some rest…”

Daisy sighed, and shook her head, “I’ll join Torres in front.” she answered. Knowing they wanted her to relax back in her bunk, but there was no way she was going to retreat with everything that was going on right now.

Sousa knew there was no point in arguing, and let out a sigh, “Alright, let’s go see how Torres is doing.” Already glad she agreed to at least sit down.

Even though Daisy felt fine again, Sousa stayed close, as they walked back to controls, his hand firmly placed on her lower back. Kora got up from the co-pilot chair, and let Daisy take a seat. Daisy hated the fuss, but she knew it was because people cared, so she tried to ignore her annoyance of being babied, and relaxed into the seat. “You okay?” Kora asked.

Daisy just nodded, and directed her attention to Torres, “Any news?”

Torres toggled something above her head, and looked up from the controls, “System detected a nameless planet, not that far away, that seems to have a breathable atmosphere. We could check it out?”

Daisy let out a relieved breath, “Good, let’s.”

Sousa put his hand on Daisy’s shoulder, and gave it a small squeeze, “I am going to check on the others,” He said.

She looked into his eyes for a second, to quietly convey that she was feeling fine, and he gave her small smile in return.

He handed her a reusable water bottle, saying: “Doctor’s orders.” with a wink, before leaving them be.

Daisy grumbled, but took the bottle from him, taking a swig from the water, and eventually relaxed into her seat.

* * *

Kora had replaced a very sleepy Torres, and was now piloting Z3. It had already been a few hours, and there were many more to go, before they could land. Daisy had remained in her seat, letting Sousa take control of the rest. It was something she had been working on, not wanting, or _needing_ to do everything herself. Sousa was more than capable, she knew that, he was the chief of SHIELD before they took him out of his timeline, but it was still not easy for her.

“Do you ever think about what kind of powers she’ll get?” Kora said, interrupting Daisy’s thoughts.

“What?” Daisy answered, blinking before turning her attention to her sister.

“Her powers, what kind of powers she’ll get.” Kora repeated, glancing at Daisy’s midriff.

Daisy looked down to where her hands were folded beneath the arch of her belly, and she shrugged, “Haven’t really thought about it…” she muttered. In truth, she tried to avoid thinking about it. There were many amazing abilities that truly were a gift, she considered hers to be one of them, even though it took a while before she thought of them that way. But Daisy had come across many Inhumans whose powers were really more of a curse. May’s ex-husband Andrew, and Robin’s father coming to mind… and she let out a prolonged sigh.

Kora nodded pensively, “Maybe she’ll inherit our grandmother’s gift,”

Daisy’s interest was peaked, and she cocked an eyebrow, “What kind of powers did she have?”

Kora smiled, “I never knew her, but mom told me that she could go invisible for about half a minute, and was always able to sneak upon her when she was doing something she shouldn’t. It drove her crazy.”

Daisy let out a chuckle; “Well I hope my kid won’t get that one, can you imagine her being a teenager, and disappearing on us when she wants to sneak out at night?” and rubbed her eyes, letting out a groan even thinking about it.

Kora laughed too, “Oh my god, yeah. She’s going to be something if I go by your stories as a teenager, poor Danny-boy.”

After laughing and conjuring up some more ‘what if’ scenarios, both sisters fell into a comfortable silence, and quietly stared into space.

“I hope we can get communications up again, it does not sit right with me.” Daisy eventually said, checking her phone once again. She would kill just for a text message to go through to Jemma, or anyone else. Just so they had a sign that everything was okay at their end.

Kora nodded, “It’s going to be fine…” She answered, not sounding too sure herself.

Both of them jumped in their seat, as Sousa suddenly stuck his face between them, “How’s it going?”

Daisy let out a chuckle, and shook her head, “It’s going, how’s everyone?”

Daniel let out a sigh, “Good, minor damage overall. Masters is his grumpy self again, but Abdul is making progress, I think.” Not really sure what the engineer had been mumbling on about, as he was busy soldering some of the cables running through the ship.

Daisy nodded, “Okay, sounds good.”

Daniel leaned in closer to Daisy, their cheeks almost touching, and with a whisper asked how she was feeling.

“I’m good, I promise.” she whispered back, and softly smiled at him.

Daniel cleared his throat, and stood up straight again, “Alright, how long before we get there?”

Kora shrugged, “Two hours, tops, I think.”

“Okay, I’ll let the rest know.” And Daniel placed his hand on Daisy shoulder, giving it a small squeeze before disappearing again.

* * *

Kora and Daisy looked at each other as they entered the unnamed planet’s atmosphere. It looked pretty damn barren, an endless dessert with an orange hue, and three dim moons. “Okay, well let’s land.” Daisy sighed, disappointed at the desolate landscape. They smoothly landed onto the surface, creating a big plume of dust, covering the windshield with its orange sand.

The team unbuckled themselves, and Daisy lowered the entry to the zephyr, causing yet another cloud of dust. They quickly concluded that, although the planet indeed had a breathable atmosphere, that was really about it. No vegetation, no signs of life, not even water by the looks of it.

They all peered outside, hesitantly standing on the edge. Agent Masters was the first one to wander down, and firmly planted his feet onto the sandy surface. The redheaded agent sighed, and held up his arms, “Well, this is just _great_.”

Abdul followed him, and nudged his shoulder, “Hey, who knows what’s beneath the surface!”

“I am guessing, more sand.” He retorted, and kicked a small stone, making it fly.

The rest of the team followed, covering their faces with their sleeves. The sand already seemed to stick everywhere, and made it hard to breathe. “Well it’s not great,” Daisy eventually said, “But we can take a break from traveling, hopefully fix the communications, and come up with a plan.”

Torres pulled out a kit, and took samples from the orange sand around them, while the other agents retreated back into the zephyr, and go for a well-deserved meal.

Daniel went to stand next to Daisy, keeping a professional distance, as they both stared into the sandy abyss, “Penny for your thoughts?” He asked.

Daisy frowned, “I just feel there’s something going on, but I am not sure _what_ ,” She sighed and looked at him, “We should’ve gone back home earlier, now we’re _stuck_.”

“We’ll get home.” Daniel assured her, he sounded so sure, that she almost started to believe it.

“I hope so, I _really_ don’t want to give birth in space,” she semi-joked, deflecting her real fear of having to bring her baby into the world without a safe hospital setting and painkillers, and she nervously brushed her hand along her belly.

Daniel reached for her free hand, not caring about the professional distance thing anymore, and laced his fingers with hers, “We’re going to be fine, okay?” he said, and looked her in the eye, “We’ll laugh about this when we’re headed back to earth.”

Daisy softly smiled back at him, “Okay. You promise?”

“I promise.”

* * *

“That damn orange sand gets _everywhere_ ,” Daisy complained, leaning forward and brushing her hand through her dark locks, shaking it, resulting in yet another cloud of orange dust around her.

Sousa let out a small chuckle, and continued putting stuff upright in their bunk, stacking piles of books together, and placing them back onto the bookcase. Nothing had been damaged or broken, but Sousa’s extensive book collection had fallen off its shelves, covering the floor in its assortment of fiction and non-fiction. Luckily his precious typewriter had not moved an inch from the desk, it probably being too heavy for even an intergalactic tremble.

Daisy looked at Daniel, and smiled sultry as she walked up to him, “Hey -” she said.

He cocked his eyebrow, as he noticed her coming towards him with that look on her face that drove him crazy. He reached out for her, pulling her into his arms, “Hey.” He simply answered back.

Daisy smirked in response, her dark eyes meeting his, she leaned in, and as their faces were only mere inches apart, she suddenly let go of her hold on him and reached out, tousling his hair with her fingers, and messing up his neatly combed curls, creating yet another cloud of orange dust.

He huffed, “ _Tease_.” As he brushed the sand from his face and shoulders.

Daisy just grinned, placing a quick kiss on his lips, ”You were looking like Masters with your red hair.” and he watched her sit down on their bed.

Daisy took off her shoes, and peeled off the dark leggings she had been wearing all day. She let out a relieved sigh, massaging her own feet. “They’re so damn swollen,” she said with an annoyed huff.

Daniel put the last of the books down, and sat down next to her. He wordlessly picked up her feet by her ankles, and moved her legs onto his lap, making her spin to the side.

Daisy smiled, and let out soft sounds of pleasure as he started to massage her swollen ankles for her. It was another not so great side effect of carrying a child, (next to needing to pee all the time, a sore back, and insides being used as a punching bag). The tight shoes she’d been wearing all day didn’t help either. She let out a deep moan, resting her forehead against his broad shoulder. Silently wondering how long she was still able to lean forward like this, before her belly got too big.

“You worried me today.” Daniel said, without looking up from his hands that were kneading her soft skin.

Daisy hummed in response, and held onto his arm a little tighter, “I know, I’m sorry. But Diaz said it was not unusual...”

“Still,” he answered her softly.

“I know,” she whispered back.

They sat in silence for a while, as Sousa continued massaging her legs and feet. The only sound coming from Daisy with the occasional moan, when he hit just the right spot.

Daisy eventually let out a sigh, “I miss them,” She said, and looked up from his shoulder, and into his eyes. “It’s weird,” she swallowed, “because when we could still contact earth, I was fine. They all have their own new lives, goals, careers, kids, love. But now that I am unable to contact them, it’s…” she swallowed again, lightly shaking her head, her eyes welling up with tears, “I just _miss them_ , you know… May and Coulson, Jemma, Mack… just everyone! They don’t even know about the baby except for Jemma, and… what if -” she rattled.

“Hey, hey -” Sousa said soothingly, and let go of the hold on her legs, and pulled her into his lap. His hand cupping her cheek, drying her tears with his thumb, “We will see them soon enough. Once Abdul has fixed the communications, we will send a message to SHIELD, get coordinates, and head home, okay?”

Daisy silently looked up at him, her eyes still rimmed red from having cried.

“ _Okay_?” he repeated, giving her a soft smile.

Daisy softly smiled back, and swallowed down the lump that had formed in her throat, “Okay.” She eventually muttered, and dried her face with the back of her sleeve, “ _God_ , I am such a weepy mess. How do you keep up with me?”

Daniel shrugged, “You make it easy.”

Daisy let out a shuttering breath, “You’re _such_ a square,“ she muttered, and grinned at him as he feigned hurt.

“Come on, let’s take a shower.” He encouraged her, rubbing her arm.

“I don’t know. I don’t think I can stand,” she complained, “My legs are jelly.”

“I’ll help you, I don’t think you want to go to sleep right now, looking like an oompa loompa,” he said with a smirk.

“Oompa Loompa?” she repeated, confused.

“You just rubbed your face with your sleeve, the sand from outside… Let’s just say, you’re looking orange.”

Daisy groaned, as she quickly glanced at her reflection in the mirror, and chuckled, “Look at you with your pop cultural references!”

“You made me watch that movie _four_ times!”

Daisy laughed, “It’s a good movie!”

Daniel grumbled, and helped her upright, “Come on, let’s take that shower, and safe some water.”

“Agent Sousa, are you trying to get me to shower with you? How _scandalous.._.” She teased.

“I am pretty sure that’s not the most scandalous thing about us right now,” he said with a chuckle, and lovingly placed his hand on her bump where their daughter was safely tucked away.

She sighed, “Don’t remind me. I think the crew is still pretty pissed about it, especially Masters.”

“Masters is pissed about everything,” Daniel said, as he led her to the shower, and started to undress himself, before helping her, “It’s going to be fine, once we are off this dusty planet.”

Daisy sighed, “Alright, but let’s not talk about our team, as I am about to step into the shower with my _very_ naked fiancé.”

Daniel helped her by pulling her shirt over her head, and dragged her into his arms, “I can agree to that.” And leaned in for a kiss, that Daisy gladly reciprocated.

* * *

After a nice long shower with her fiancé, they had stumbled into bed and quickly fallen asleep in each other’s arms. But Daisy had awoken, after only a few hours of fitful sleep, to a still softly snoring Sousa. She had been haunted by bad dreams as of late, a lot of them involving Jiaying dying in her arms, over and over again. She knew they meant something, but she wasn’t ready to unpack all of that, just yet.

She softly sighed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Sousa was holding onto her tight, his chest against her back and his arm protectively around her stomach. If it weren’t for the baby that was pressing onto her bladder, she probably would have forced herself to say in bed, and fall asleep again after an hour or two. But her kid had a different idea, and she gently untangled herself from Daniel’s arms, and went to the bathroom. After she had relieved herself, she decided that even though Daniel’s arms looked warm and inviting, she’d might as well go and check out how the rest of the ship was doing, and ease her mind a bit. She quickly got dressed into something more decent, not wanting to wander around in only Daniel’s shirt and a pair of socks. And she carefully slipped out of the bunk, making sure not to wake Daniel who was still peacefully asleep.

The Zephyr was pretty dark, only lit by the occasional overhead light and the flicker of red and green buttons. She could faintly hear the wind from outside sweeping against the sides of the zephyr. She kind of missed the gentle rumble as they traveled through space. It immediately felt different when Z3 was just parked. And she wondered if that was the reason she couldn’t really sleep well.

After strolling for a bit, she let out a shocked yelp as she saw Abdul sitting on the ground, in the middle of a hallway, with his face buried in his hands.

“Abdul!” she said, groaning, “I didn’t see you there…” and let out a sigh, “Any news?”

Agent Abdul looked up to her with an expression she couldn’t really read, he sighed but remained sitting on the ground, “Communications are up and running.” He eventually muttered.

Daisy smiled, “That’s great! Any response from earth?”

Abdul slowly shook his head, “There’s… no signal.”

Daisy frowned, “No signal? I thought you said…”

Abdul pushed himself off the floor, and adjusted his glasses, “You see, the communications were never fried. There is just… no signal.”

“As in?”

“It’s like… There is no earth.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Gotta be honest I am kind of nervous about my original characters, but I wanted people to get to know the (small) team for plot purposes, don't be worried the main focus is still Sousa and Daisy with Kora and of course the baby. Also don't be afraid of too much crazy plot, I am going to keep it quite small. It is still a fluff story to its core lol. Let me know if you liked it! And until next time!
> 
> (Also leave a comment if you have any cute name ideas for the baby bc I am struggling lol)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, welcome back! So this chapter takes place after another time skip and will answer some of the questions you might've had after reading the last chapter :) Enjoy!
> 
> You can follow me on: tumblr.com/marvelsquake

“How about Alice?” Daniel asked and licked his thumb, flipping to the next page, while his other hand gently stroked Daisy’s hair. 

Daisy looked up at him, “Alice?” she repeated. 

“Yeah? It’s a nice and classic name, good book too,” he said with a smile, holding his copy of Alice in Wonderland in the air.

Daisy smiled back. Her head was resting on his thigh, while he had been reading Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’ out loud to her. Since Daniel had learned that the baby could recognize sounds from inside the womb, he wanted his daughter to get to know his voice, so he started reading to them from his extensive book collection, every single night. 

Daisy hummed, “Maybe… I like it, but I don’t know if I _love_ it, but let’s put it on the list.”

“Alright,” he said, feeling glad, and continued reading. Daisy closed her eyes and let her mind drift off, enjoying the rumble of his voice. “How did you come up with your name?” Daniel suddenly asked, interrupting his own reading.

Daisy blinked, “Mine?”

“Yeah, I know how you got Daisy, but your other name?”

Daisy smirked, “I’ve had many.”

“Skye?”

Daisy hummed, “Well, they gave me a horrible name at the orphanage, so I changed it to Skye... when I was still with the Rising Tide, it was recognizable yet not too unusual, I think it still fits that period of my life, but I am glad I found mine.”

“Do you want to use Skye for -“

“For her?” Daisy asked, placing her hand on her belly, “No, I still like the name, but no.”

“How about another flower name that matches yours, Rose, Lily, Poppy?”

“Only if we change yours to a flower name too, otherwise it’s not fair,” she answered with a grin.

“Alright, no flower name, then,” he said with a chuckle. “Want me to continue reading?”

Daisy hummed in response, and closed her eyes again. A thankful smile crept on her face as he placed his warm hand on her belly, brushing along the curve with his thumb.

“Do you think they’re worried about us?” Daisy pondered, interrupting a sentence. She opened her eyes again, and looked up at Daniel. He paused his reading and looked down, brushing a strand of dark hair from her face.

“Of course they are,” Daniel answered, and placed the book beside him. “You’re their family,” he said with a smile, “Remember when I first thought Coulson was your dad?” 

Daisy let out a small chuckle, “Yeah.” and leaned more into his touch. 

“I bet they’re just as eager to contact us, as we are them.” 

Daisy sighed. “If earth still exists,” she muttered under her breath. 

“Hey,” he said, as he gently stroked her hair again, causing goose bumps to spread all over her body, “Of course earth still exists.”

“How can you be so sure? It has been _weeks,_ and we still haven’t been able to contact them.”

“Because I believe we have been sucked into _something_ , when the Zephyr started to shake. And our earth is just,” as he made a hand gesture, “On the other side of it.”

Daisy exhaled, feeling a small part of her worries ease with this simple explanation. “Maybe,” she said, and rested her hand on her protruding stomach. Gently following the curve up and down with her fingertips, she exclaimed quietly, “I just _really_ wanna go home.”

Daniel breathed out through his nose, “Me too,” and both of them kept silent for a while, deep in thought.

“What if she never gets to experience what we had?”, Daisy continued, “Her little toes in the grass, waking up to the sun shining through the curtains, the smell of the ocean…” 

She swallowed, trying to keep her tears at bay. “She didn’t choose this. What if I doomed her life to be lived in space, random planets and this endless ocean of emptiness…” ending her sentence with a sob.  


“Hey, hey, listen, that is not going to happen,” Daniel said sincerely, as he looked directly into her eyes, “besides, this _isn’t_ your fault, this is nobody’s fault. You didn’t know you were pregnant, you didn’t –“

“ _No_! But I insisted we’d stay on mission!”, she protested, disrupting his argument, and awkwardly she got up from his lap, struggling with her new center of gravity, and finally sat cross legged next to him. ”What kind of mother am I, choosing a _mission_ over the safety of my baby…”

“Daisy, look at me, this is _not_ your fault. Nobody could have imagined that we’d be in a situation like this. You’re an excellent mother, because you _care_ ,” Sousa persisted.

Daisy slowly shook her head, her dark hair falling like a curtain around her face, her previously blonde hair color only in the ends, after months without upkeep. 

“You _car_ e so much, Daisy, and not just about us and the baby, but about your sister, the progress she’s made, and the whole crew and time and efforts they invested. That’s why you wanted to stay longer on mission. You shouldn’t forget about that.”  


Daisy groaned and put her hand on her lower back, as at that exact moment a Braxton Hicks’ contraction made her muscles contract painfully. “I’m just so tired,” she finally muttered, wiping the stray tears from her face. 

“I know,” he breathed out, “I know.” He softly smiled at her, and gently rubbed her knee.

Daisy let out a deep sigh. “Thank you,” she whispered, and pushed herself off the bed.

“Where are you going?”, he wanted to know while helping her up with a gentle push.

“I’m going to look for something to eat,” she murmured, a little hoarse from the emotions.

“You sure? We only have half a chapter to go,” he said, picking the book back up.

Normally it was a favorite of hers, with him being such a good reader, and she loved the warmth in his voice and how their baby reacted to it, but today she hadn’t been able to keep her attention, at all. 

“I just… need to stretch my legs a little, we can finish it tonight.”

Daniel slowly nodded, “Okay, want me to come with?”

Daisy shook her head, “No, I am okay. You had a long day, relax.”

“Alright,” he agreed, and put a bookmark between the pages, and closed it, looking ready to take a nap. 

Daisy leaned over to quickly peck him on the lips, groaning as her back protested.

“You sure you’re okay?”, he asked, his forehead wrinkled in concern when he helped her upright again. 

Daisy smiled softly, wanting to kiss that worried expression off of his face, “I promise,” and made her way to the kitchen, trying her hardest not to waddle.

* * *

Daisy had gone to sit in the kitchen area by herself in one of the comfy chairs, enjoying the peace and quiet, as most of the crew had been on mission on the planet they were currently stationed on. The last remaining food ration wasn’t the greatest, it was just space travel food with great nutritional value, just not such a great taste. 

She stirred the brown slop in front of her; were she not pregnant, she probably had rather starved herself than eat one more bowl of this stuff. But of course she had her baby to think of, so she took a careful bite and groaned. It was honestly not that bad, just extremely bland and it had the tendency to stick to the roof of her mouth.

She reached for her cup of tea to wash away the bite, and smiled wistfully. Jemma had stockpiled her favorite tea for Daisy, as a way to say good luck, and Daisy’s heart ached, wanting to see her best friend again so badly. The tea bags had slowly but surely all been used up, and she was contemplating using them more than the four times she already was doing, just so she had a remnant of it left.

Her thoughts were interrupted by her team returning from the mission, dragging a cold gush of air with them as they entered Z3. They all had scowls on their faces, so she prepared herself for bad news. Kora pulled her hood down and brushed the remaining snow from her shoulders, and let out a deep sigh.

Daisy sat up, and placed the bowl beside her that had been balanced on her sphere-like belly, glad to have an excuse to not have to eat it. “How did it go?”

Kora sighed, “They don’t want to speak with us,” and pulled the gloves from her hands.

Daisy groaned, and cursed under her breath, “Well, we knew this planet’s species weren’t easy to –“

Kora interrupted her by shaking her head, running her hand through her dark hair, “It’s not that, they only want to speak with _you.”_

Daisy frowned, “ _Me_? Why?”

Masters cleared his throat, “They only want to speak to the captain, and apparently you have a reputation, even here, _Quake.”_ He folded his arms in front of his chest, clearly annoyed by the situation.

Daisy sighed, and looked down, “I am not going out there, I’m sorry, but it’s just not safe,” subconsciously placing her hand below the curve of her belly.

“It’s the only way they want to speak with us,” Torres said, and she sounded defeated, as she pulled the hood from her suit down too, freeing her bouncy curls.

Daisy sighed again, and looked up at her team that had just returned; they all looked so _tired_. She felt a pang of guilt. She knew how important this intel was. The planet Moxan that they had landed on, was the first one where they had actually heard of the existence of Terrans, and the rock they called home. 

She swallowed, contemplating it, and then eventually decided. “Okay, I’ll do it,” she stated with a nod.

Kora took a step forward, and pleaded “Daisy, you don’t have to, we can find something else… Try another planet.”

Daisy shook her head, “It’ll take too long. If they want to talk to me, _fine,_ I’ll talk to them.”

“Daisy...”

Daisy jumped in her seat and looked behind her. Daniel was standing there, his arms folded and with a worried expression on his face. She excused herself from the team, awkwardly pushing herself from her seat, and dragged Sousa by the arm to a quiet corner. “You startled me, I thought you were taking a nap?”

“Daisy, you can’t go. Who knows what those aliens want, it’s too dangerous,” Daniel said decisively, completely ignoring her remark.

Daisy faintly nodded. “I know. I don’t want to go either, but listen… These Moxan’s are not known for their aggression, they have been quite welcoming even. It’s the first lead we’ve had in _months_. If this means we might be able to go back home…” she reached out for his hands, and held them in hers, giving them a gentle squeeze, “Maybe we can have our baby on earth, safe, and with our family.”

Daniel sighed, and swallowed. She could clearly see the conflict on his face, his eyes darting to the side as he was thinking. “Fine,” he eventually muttered, and added more clearly: “But I am going with you.” 

Daisy smiled slightly, “I wasn’t expecting anything less.”

She let go of Daniel’s hands, and returned to her team who were waiting patiently. “I’ll go. Sousa is going with me. Torres, Kora, you have been in communication with them, so I’d like you two to come with us as well, and Masters, you take command on ship until we get back, okay?”

Everybody grumbled in agreement, accepting their new roles. “Now I just need to find a way to hide... this,” and gestured at her very obvious baby bump.

* * *

  
It was quite the funny look. Daisy hadn’t been able to wear her stealth suit since she had gotten pregnant, but luckily, on planet Moxan, it was quite customary to wear tarps and cloths as clothing. So, Daisy improvised by wearing her trusty leggings, a tight fitted thermal shirt (that somehow still fit around her ever expending waist), boots, fabric draped around her body, _and_ her gauntlets, the only part of her original suit that _did_ still fit. 

“How do I look?” she asked her sister, revealing her new outfit, while tightening the gauntlets around her arms. 

“Pregnant,” Kora chuckled. 

Daisy rolled her eyes, “ _Besides_ that.”

“Good, I guess. Maybe they’ll just think you’ve gotten fat,” she said with a smirk.

“ _Thanks_ ,” Daisy answered with a chuckle, shaking her head.

Sousa placed his hand on her lower back, “You look beautiful.”

Daisy rolled her eyes again, he had been constantly telling how beautiful she looked, even though she knew that, more often that not, she looked like a hot mess. She eyed her fiancé with similar tarps draped around his body, “We all look like some side character in a sad Star Wars spin-off,” she said with a sigh. 

Daniel grinned, proud that he understood a pop culture reference. “Ready?”, he asked, slinging a scarf-like cloth over his shoulder.

Daisy nodded unenthusiastically, “Let’s go,” and they walked out of the Zephyr with part of the team, leaving Masters, Abdul and Diaz behind. 

* * *

  
“This is _not_ a third-trimester activity,” Daisy complained, as she walked through the brisk snow. Luckily, it hadn’t been too cold, Moxan’s sun was shining, and to be fair, it wasn’t that long of a walk. Her feet, however, were already killing her, and she did _not_ feel powerful, as her walk resembled more of a waddle than her usual strut.

Daniel wordlessly placed his hand on her lower back, providing her a bit of support. She let out a sigh, glad he didn’t offer to carry her again. Torres looked behind her. “Only a little longer, it’s over there,” she said, and pointed at a tall building. It had rounded edges and was stark white, even whiter than the snow, nothing like any architecture she’d ever seen on earth. It was clear the building was important, as it was heavily guarded. 

Daisy tried to catch her breath when they finally reached the front of it, and Torres talked to the tall guards. They were humanoid, tall, green, spindly, with an extra set of arms and eyes, yet funnily enough not the weirdest creatures she’d ever seen. The guards eyed them, checked what looked like a tablet, and eventually let them in.

Daisy quietly gasped as they walked through the entrance, the floors and ceilings were covered in some sort of mosaic, almost like a Moroccan temple, but with strange colors and patterns. It was quite beautiful in its own way. She heard Sousa gasp and mumble a ‘ _wow_ ’ next to her, and they looked at each other with an incredulous smile for a second, before a booming voice could be heard. They all looked to where the voice came from, and stared at the figure that appeared in front of them. He resembled the guards they saw outside the building, only his tarps were nicer looking, adorned with the same kind of patterns that covered the floor and ceiling. 

“Quake,” he said with a grin, his sharp canine teeth visible as he smiled, “Welcome!” 

Daisy suppressed a sigh, “King Palunk, I presume?”, she said, while forcing a polite smile.

He gave her a small bow, and with what could almost be compared to an Australian accent, he replied “Yes I am, and I must say, it’s such an honor having you here. I have heard much about you.”

Daisy couldn’t say the same. Before they had landed she had never heard of this planet, or the people living on it, so she just returned the bow as best she could.

Palunk suddenly frowned, beckoning one of his guards to come closer, saying something in their native language she didn’t understand. “What are you hiding?” he suddenly demanded to know, his mood completely changing for the worse, his previous friendly expression morphing into a scowl.

Daisy looked up stunned, frowning, “I am not hiding anything?”

Palunk squinted, and send one of his guards closer, “What’s that you carry in front?” 

Daniel immediately stepped in between, his hand hovering above his weapon.

Daisy suddenly realized what he meant, and she held up her hand, ready to quake anyone who dared to come closer. “Wait!”, she exclaimed. She pulled the cloths that had been hiding her physique to the side, exposing her rounded bump, and ran her hand along the curve. “I’m carrying a child,” she stated, her other hand still up, ready to quake, “not a weapon.”

Palunk’s eyes grew wide, and he slowly nodded. The guards took a step back, and returned to their post.

“You have to excuse me, I forgot Terrans still incubate their offspring within their own bodies, such a barbaric practice, if you ask me,” he said in disgust, a shiver visibly running down his spine. 

Daisy dropped her arm, and pulled the cloths back, masking her unborn daughter from the world again. 

“This must be the offspring’s father?”, the king asked, raising his eyebrow with an amused smirk on his face.

“Sure am,” Daniel grunted, still on high alert. Daisy put her hand on his arm, and pulled him closer to calm him down.

Palunk just smirked and shook his head, “So, they told me you had questions?”

Daisy nodded, “Yes, my people told me that you have actually heard of our home planet, called earth, and we wondered if –“

Palunk held all four of his arms up, two sets of long sleeves flowing as he did, “Hold up, hold up, wait! You’re my _guests_ , this is highly inappropriate of me, let’s discuss this over supper, shall we?” and gestured to his servants, who quickly scurried away to prepare the table.

Daisy protested, “It’s okay, we’re fine. I just wanted to ask some –“

Palunk shook his head dismissively, “I will tell you everything we know, I promise. We just don’t get guests that often, so please let me offer you a warm welcome.”

Daisy glanced at Sousa and the rest of the team. Kora and Torres shrugged, and Sousa had a scowl on his face, still looking ready to attack. 

She hid an inner sigh, and not wanting to jeopardize their chances of getting more information, she smiled as genuinely as she could muster, and said “Alright, it would be our honor to take you up on your offer.”

Palunk smiled, “Good!” and clapped in his bottom hands, “and do not be worried, we have foods that will be safe for terrans to consume,” while fixing the collar of his cloak with his upper two hands.

Daisy ignored the four-armed spectacle and nodded, “Thank you.”

* * *

With some effort, Daisy swallowed down a spoonful of her food, and looked at Daniel who was seated next to her. Like herself, he hadn’t eaten much. They were all on alert, ready to bolt or attack if necessary, but he seemed to be on an even higher alert, the stress readable on his face. The fright of the discovered pregnancy still fresh on their minds, Daisy reached out under the table and rested her hand on his bouncing knee. He looked at her and gave a faint smile.

She glanced at Kora and Torres, both of them seemed to have more fun than she and Sousa were. She didn’t blame them, the last couple of weeks had been long and stressful, and the people of Moxan were warm and inviting, and at least the food tasted like something, nothing like the bland sludge they had on board. She still needed to ask how they even got potatoes on their snowy planet, not to mention the fruits that sort of looked like peaches, but tasted more like cucumber. She looked around the table, it was amazing to see the several creatures, preparing their food with one set of arms and gesturing with the other in animated conversation, she made sure not to stare for too long, though. 

Daisy let go of Sousa’s knee and trailed with her hand along her belly, the gauntlets still firmly wrapped around her arms. Her baby had been pushing and prodding, almost as if she wanted to get outta there as much as she did. 

Daisy took a deep breath and cleared her throat, trying her best to sound courteous but not too timid, “Your majesty, would you mind answering some of our questions now?”

The king smiled, his sharp teeth glistening, “Of course, ask away!”

“As you know, King Palunk, we are of earth. Unfortunately, we’ve lost all communications with our planet a while ago, and we really want to go back. But we don’t even know if there is an earth to come back to…”

Palunk waved her off, “Of course earth is still there, do not worry.” 

Daisy exhaled in profound relief, and looked at the others, Sousa immediately relaxed his shoulders and a smile formed on his lips. It was difficult not to cheer, but Daisy managed to politely comment “We are relieved to hear that,” and glanced at Kora and Torres whose eyes were shiny from unshed tears. Kora put her hand on Torres’ arm and softly chuckled. It was clear they had all been anxious for answers, more than they had shown.

“You see,” Palunk said as he took a sip of his Moxan’s wine, “You and your ship have somehow managed to penetrate the force field, and that’s why your communications are off. No signal can come through.”

“A force field?” Daisy repeated, pretty much confirming their suspicions. 

“Yes, it’s been set up to separate this part of the universe, from your part of the universe, because… well, your planet attracts a lot of trouble, _Thanos_ being one of them, and we wanted to stay out of it as much as we could. It’s actually more of a cloak, really.”  


Daisy nodded, “So how do we get back?”

“Well you can’t,” Palunk said, taking another sip of his wine.

“We, we- can’t?!” Daisy stuttered, instantly turning pale.

“Calm down, you can’t from _here_. The guardians of the force field are located on the nearest moon, Augnum, so that’s where you need to be,” he assured them with a maddening indifference, pointing upwards.

Daisy let out a relieved breath, “Alright, Augnum. How far away from here is that?”

Palunk shrugged, “Oh, guessing by your ship, just a month, maybe two months with an astroid storm.”

Daisy felt her heart sink and gasped, “A _month!_?”

* * *

Daisy took her gauntlets off, as Daniel sat down on the bed. He rested his elbows on his knees and rubbed his face, relieved to be back to the place they have been calling home for several months now. 

Daisy looked at him and felt guilty, like she sometimes still did, for pulling him from his era and into space with her, even though she rationally knew that if they hadn’t, he would’ve been dead by now. 

She walked up to him, and stood right before him, her bump practically brushing against his forehead. “Hey,” she said quietly, and ran her fingers through his dark curls, gently pulling, so she could look him in the eye. Daniel silently complied and stared up at her. He looked so tired, but there were still that soft smile and those kind eyes that made her heart flutter. She moved her hand to his cheek and lovingly brushed it with her thumb. “I think we have been a bit naive,” she said with a whisper.

“Naive?”, he repeated, as he sat a little more upright, her bump right in front of his face. He placed his hand on it, lovingly caressing along the arch of it.

Daisy hummed, “We’ve been so focused of having this baby on earth, but Daniel, I don’t think we will.”

Daniel swallowed and rested his forehead against her belly, “We’re not giving up, though,” he said.

Daisy shook her head, and started to comb her fingers through his hair again, “No, we’re not. But I’m already 36 weeks along, our journey to Augnum will take a month, maybe even two. And even if we can go straight back to earth after that, she’s not going to wait that long.”

Daniel looked up again, and into her eyes. He slowly nodded, “How are you feeling about it?”

Daisy let out a small chuckle, “Not great, but we at least have an earth to come back to. We’ll just need to get creative, come up with a plan. Create a home for her, right here, within Z3.”

He hummed, and placed a kiss on the bump, just above her belly button that had become an outie since recent. He smiled, “Once we get home, little one, I promise you a big yard, with a swing set, your own room, and maybe even a dog”, he said to his unborn daughter.

Daisy chuckled, “We’ll talk about the dog.”

They both sighed in unison, Daniel still caressing the bump where their daughter was quiet and probably rocked to sleep by their walk back to Z3. Palunk had offered them a ride to their ship in his royal vehicle, but to Kora’s dismay, Daisy chose to walk, and digest the new information.

“Let’s go get ready for bed, so I can finish reading that chapter for my girls,” Sousa suggested.

Daisy smiled, “You don’t have to, it’s late, we’re tired, we can pick up where we left tomorrow.”

But Daniel shook his head, “I like reading to you two, and besides, it’s only a few more pages.”

Daisy smiled, “Alright. If you insist.”

They both silently got ready for bed, glad to be taking off their Moxan garb, and got into their sleepwear. Daisy settled into Daniel’s side, using his thigh to prop up her belly, as he picked up the book and read where they had left off. It only took a page’s worth before Daniel had fallen silent, and was already asleep, completely dead to the world. Daisy smiled as she gingerly pulled the book from his hand and laid it beside her. He was snoring softly with his arm still fiercely locked around her. She turned the light off, and curled more into his embrace, and whispered to him a good night.

* * *

The people of Moxan had been extremely good to them, gifting them more than enough food to make their journey to Augnum, and so they left, stocked to the brim and ready for at least another month of traveling, and thus making these last few weeks a hell of a lot more enjoyable than all those before.

“Hey,” Kora said as she joined Daisy in the otherwise empty kitchen area.

Daisy smiled at her sister and took a sip from her tea, “Hey.” 

She couldn’t help but notice that Kora looked a bit nervous, while holding something behind her back.

“What’s up?”

Kora let out a deep breath, “I, um, I overhead you and Sousa. Making plans, and lists, to get ready for my niece there.” as she awkwardly nodded towards Daisy’s round stomach, her hands still firmly behind her back.

Daisy raised her eyebrow, “You overheard?”

“Hey, I was not eavesdropping, you guys talk loudly, okay?”

Daisy chuckled, “Okay, sorry, go on,”

“And well, it made me think. In Afterlife we didn’t really have much, so I made a lot of things myself. It was a fun thing to do, and also a way to just kill time, because even though it was beautiful there, it was also _really_ boring at times…” 

Daisy smiled, “I can imagine, yeah.”

“So when I heard you guys talk about the lack of baby stuff, I thought, why not help my sister out...”

Daisy frowned, “What do you mean?” and then gasped when Kora revealed what she had been hiding behind her back. There were two sets of baby clothing, very simple, cotton, with a cute stripy pattern, with matching tiny baby caps, and a pair of knitted booties.

“You _made_ these?” Daisy said, tears welling up in her eyes as she delicately took the little garments from her sister’s hands.

Kora swallowed, and shrugged like it was nothing special, “I used my spare sheets and sewed them by hand, they’re not perfect, but I -“

Daisy shook her head, “No, Kora these _are_ perfect!”

Kora smiled shyly, “Glad you liked them, I tried making little bottoms too but I failed, so these are kind of like long shirts or dresses, whatever. Makes it easier to change diapers, I guess.”

Daisy let her fingers slide over the fabric, the small light blue stripes of the bedsheets made for a very cute pattern, and the knitted booties matched the blue. 

Daisy wiped her tears with the back of her hand, “I can’t get up, so please,” she uttered as she beckoned for Kora to come closer. Kora leaned down and hugged her sister. “Thank you so much. This is amazing, you’re amazing…”

Kora let go of the hug and smiled, “Now you have one less thing to worry about.”

Daisy sighed and draped the little dress over her bump, “We were planning on just keeping her swaddled in blankets, but this is so much better.”

“I can make more once she grows, I still have some pillow cases... but I hope we’ll be back on earth by then.”

Daisy slowly nodded, and sighed, “Me too.”

Kora sat down too, and put her feet on the stool in front of her, where Daisy’s feet were resting too. “Did you always want kids?”

Daisy looked up from the pint-sized clothing in her hands and blinked, “Honestly? No, I knew once I dedicated my life to SHIELD that that was it. There was a small period of time where I thought I might wanted them, when I was with Lincoln, but when that was… over,” she swallowed and shook her head, “I thought I just would become like May, you know. Have my SHIELD family, become some sort of mentor, maybe.”

“But then you got yourself a man, snatched from the ‘50s,”

Daisy chuckled, “Exactly,” shaking her head, “but even with Daniel I didn’t really entertain the idea, especially once we were in space but… you know, she wasn’t planned. And when I found out I was pregnant, it stunned me that I wasn’t that freaked out. So, I knew it was right.”

“Even now that we are light years away from home?”

Daisy smiled and then shrugged, “Even then.”

They sat silently for a minute before Daisy let out a groan, “Can you help me up? I need to pee, _again.”_

Kora chuckled, “Sure.” and pulled her sister from her chair with a grunt. 

Daisy let out a gasp as she felt a wetness coat her leggings and a trickle down her pant leg. Stunned, she looked down.

“Did you pee yourself again?” Kora asked with a giggle, scrunching her nose in disgust.

“Kora, can you get Diaz for me?”, Daisy requested as she stood up straight.

“Why?”

“I think my water just broke.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So who's ready for the baby to be born?? (I am not as I am still writing it lol) 
> 
> Thank you all so much for the many comments and suggestions, it really does mean a lot to me and keeps me so motivated to write! Let me know what you thought of this chapter and until next week!
> 
> Thanks to Wlammy for being my amazing beta!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, it's time! Who's ready for the birth of the newest team member of the Astro Ambassadors? 
> 
> Important! if you're triggered by child birth this might not be the chapter for you, or you should skip more towards the end. Not that it is really graphic imo, but still! 
> 
> Thanks to the amazing Wlammy for being my beta for this chapter, because I would not have been able to finish it this week without her!

“You’re doing great, Daisy, you’re already at three centimeters,” Diaz said, as she pulled the latex gloves from her hands, and disposed of them, “Won’t be long before you’re in active labor.”

Daisy groaned and lowered her legs, “Feels pretty active to me,” 

Diaz smiled empathetically, “I know, but you’re moving along nicely. Just try and relax in between contractions, save some energy for later.”

Daisy sighed, ignoring the ominous “ _later_ ”, and ran her hand along her belly. Against all odds, a part of her had kept a secret lingering hope that she’d be able to give birth on earth, which was now shattered by the baby deciding to come early.

Suddenly, the sliding door of the medic bay opened with urgency and a shocked Sousa stepped into the room, closely followed by Kora. Sousa blinked, and immediately walked up to Daisy, who was seated on the only hospital bed they had on Z3, and grabbed her hand. His eyes were wide as saucers, “Kora told me you’re in _labor,_ already?”

Daisy exhaled in relief and reached out her hand to him. She couldn’t help but chuckle a bit at his expression, thinking back on how he once told her that things hardly ever faze him. 

“Yeah, but apparently not active labor yet…” she answered with a sigh, “my water broke but the contractions are still very irregular so she’s not in a hurry yet.” In an effort to calm him down, she soothingly stroked his arm, and nodded at him with the bravest smile she could muster.

Sousa slowly nodded back, and shifted his attention to Diaz, who was silently standing by, and he stammered “Is the baby going to be okay? She’s… too early, a _month_ early...”

Diaz nodded, and eased his concern. “She’s going to be fine, Sousa, just a little smaller.”

He let out a relieved breath, “Alright, okay. That’s good,” and blinked again, trying to calm himself before leaning over to Daisy and giving her a quick kiss. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m okay, for now. Took you long enough to get here,” Daisy said semi-accusingly, looking from Daniel to Kora with a raised eyebrow.

Kora huffed jokingly and raised her hands in a defensive gesture, “Hey, don’t look at me, I ran through the whole damn ship! Couldn’t find him anywhere!”

Sousa looked a little remorseful, and explained “I’m sorry, I was checking stock with Masters, must’ve left my communication thing somewhere.”

Daisy shook her head with a smirk, “It’s fine, you’re here now. Can you help me up, please?” 

Sousa nodded and took ahold of Daisy’s arm, and gently pulled her upright, and to the side so her feet were dangling off the edge. Daisy slowly pushed herself off the bed and stood for a moment with her eyes closed, waiting for the lightheadedness to pass. “Don’t you want to stay in bed?” he asked carefully.

Daisy shook her head, “I just need to move around, it hurts more when I am just sitting, doing nothing.”

“Can I do something, help, need anything?” Kora asked, watching her sister starting to pace around.

Daisy shook her head, “No, thank you. The only thing I’ll be doing for a while is walking around like Winnie The Pooh, so you can return to your post, I’ll keep you updated.”

“Alright, good luck, and contact me when you need me, okay! Can’t wait to meet my niece,” Kora said with a nervous smile. Daisy simply nodded in response and watched Kora leave the medic bay.

“Winnie the Pooh?” Sousa repeated. 

Daisy gestured at her outfit which was a large button up shirt, just long enough to not leave her exposed, “Because of the whole shirt no pants, thing. Didn’t we read Winnie the Pooh?”

Sousa breathed out through his nose, “We did, just didn’t get the joke,”

Daisy wanted to respond, before she suddenly felt a contraction rip through her body and she gasped, holding tightly onto Daniel’s shirt, leaning forward with her head against his clavicle with her eyes screwed shut. He immediately held her stable and upright, and waited for her contraction to subside. “That was a _way_ stronger one,” she eventually muttered, slowly letting go off of her grasp on him. 

“I could feel you vibrate,” he responded. He hated seeing her in pain, but it also left him in awe of the pure strength she exuded. 

Daisy swallowed, as she was still catching her breath, “It’s harder to keep in control of my powers when I am in pain,” she responded and send him a wistful smile. “I’ll be fine,” she promised, not sure whether she was reassuring herself or Daniel.

Daniel wasn’t so sure of that, but wasn’t about to speak against her when she was dealing with all of the pain, and him being a mere bystander. He gently let go of her hold on her and watched her waddle in semi-circles, pacing through the room with her hands firmly placed on her back and shuffling in her socked feet.

Diaz kept her silence, taking notes and reading up on stuff, giving the couple a bit more privacy. 

* * *

“I don’t know how Jemma did this,” Daisy said through gritted teeth as the painful contraction slowly subsided, and she exhaled audibly. It had already been a few agonizing hours. She was squatting next to the bed, her hands clutching the sheets on the mattress, and her forehead leaning against the side of the bed. Her hair was sticking to the nape of her neck, even after she had pulled her hair up, strands just seemed to keep escaping. Daniel wordlessly pulled the hair from her neck to the side, and started to massage her lower back again. She did not really like to be touched while going through one of her contractions, but the lower back massage was a great source of relief in between the painful muscle spasms. Daniel put some pressure with his thumbs on the right spot, and Daisy let out a moan.

“Recite the list for me again,” Daisy softly pleaded with her eyes closed, resting her forehead on the bed.

“Again?”

“It’s a comfort,” she murmured, “to know we are prepared.”

Daniel nodded, “Of course,” he said apologetically, and took his notebook from his back pocket and removed the elastic around it and cleared his throat, “We have… cloth diapers,”

Daisy nodded, her eyes closed, “cloth diapers,” she repeated.

Daniel continued, “Baby clothes made by Kora,” 

Daisy repeated him again, “baby clothes made by Kora”. She couldn’t help but smile for a second, thinking of her sister who had so lovingly stitched the little outfits from her bed sheets.

“We got our makeshift basinet,”

“Our makeshift basinet...” she muttered and opened one eye and looked to her side, faintly smiling at Daniel, “I love the basinet.”

He smiled back, “Me too.” They found out that their laundry basket, with its oval shape and low flexible brim, was the perfect shape for a makeshift basinet, especially for a newborn.

Daniel then recited some more smaller items, and then repeated the whole list again, with Daisy humming along, finding comfort in its rhythm. 

She gasped as she felt another contraction coming, this one washed over her with so much force she almost let go of the hold on the bed. Daniel surged forward and was luckily quick enough to hold her upright, and whispered encouraging words in her ear. The previous vibrations he had felt coming from her had become a lot stronger, causing the bed to rattle, and everything around them to tremble. Daisy panted as the contraction finally subsided after a good minute, and she let herself fall into Daniel’s arms. “You’re doing great.” he reassured her, pressing his cheek against hers for a moment.

“I can’t… I don’t know if I can control it,” she said, as she watched Diaz pick up several items from the floor that had fallen around them.

“It’s okay, Daisy. You know Z3 is able to handle all sorts of attacks,” Diaz reassured her as she put the jar of cotton swabs back in its rightful place.

Daisy groaned, “Even from the inside out?” and she saw doubt flash in Diaz’s eyes. She grunted and shook her head, “We’ll see, I guess.” 

“For now, you leave the worrying to me, okay?”, Diaz said as she pulled herself together, “You’re doing great, Daisy, just try and stay calm and listen to your body. It knows what it’s doing. But let’s see how far dilated you now are, okay?”

Daisy swallowed. Her legs felt like jelly and she looked at Daniel who gave her one of his reassuring smiles. “Can you help me up?”

“Of course,” he responded and gently pulled her up, and onto the bed. 

Daisy sighed out as she was finally seated and let her legs drop. At first the check to see how far dilated she was felt very invasive and uncomfortable, but after having many of them, she just didn’t care anymore that her friend had her fingers down there. All she wanted was for Diaz to announce she was at ten centimeters and ready to push.

Diaz smiled, “You’re seven centimeters, Daisy. Seems like your baby is in a hurry to meet you!” 

Sousa smiled nervously, clearly excited, but Daisy just swallowed. She knew it was going to become even more intense from now, and she wasn’t really sure _how_ she was going to handle it. Not just the awful pain ripping through her body, but her powers that were buzzing beneath her skin, wanting to burst out with every contraction. 

Tears welled up in her eyes when she thought about how desperately she wanted Jemma or May to be with her, to be _home,_ and how she wished a gentle sunlight would greet the baby’s first morning, instead of the eternal darkness of space.

Daniel was amazing, supportive, loving, and everything she knew he would be, but still she couldn’t shake the feeling of wanting her _family_ to be there. May who always seemed to be able to coach her through the hardest of battles, and Jemma who always knew what to say. She felt herself starting to shake; this time the shaking had nothing to do with her quakes, but just the brutality and the exhaustion that came with trying to birth a human. 

“Daisy, are you okay?” Daniel asked concerned, when her posture had completely changed. She almost looked defeated, which worried him, as he could not remember having her _ever_ seen defeated. Her gaze was aimed at her cup of tea that Diaz was holding, with the label of Jemma’s tea dangling by the string.

“I’m scared, I’m tired,” she admitted, with her arms clenched against her chest, “and I wanna go _home.”_ Silent tears ran down her cheeks, and her bottom lip started to quiver.

“Hey, hey, we’re going home, you hear me,” Daniel promised, feeling his heart bleed from seeing her so distraught. 

Daisy glanced at him, “ _Why_ … does that sound so familiar...”

Daniel smiled, and brushed the hair from her face, “It’s what I told you when we were stuck in that barn. I repeated it over and over again, and I meant it as much as I do now. You got this, Daisy, there’s plenty of fight left in you, because I’ve seen it.”

Daisy simply nodded, and closed her eyes. She was glad to have a bit of a breather between the pains, and requested Daniel to read once again from the checklist. The checking off of the items they already secured, became more of a comforting mantra than just a simple list, and she tried to focus on his calming voice and the few securities they did have. It didn’t take long, though, before she howled again as another contraction ripped through her body. 

She clenched her fists around Sousa’s hand until they turned white, and begged breathlessly “Keep going!”

Sousa nodded and continued summing up loudly through the ship’s rumble _“...baby clothes made by Kora, makeshift bassinet, the banner from cut-out stars,..._ ” Sousa glanced at Diaz and swallowed, as he kept coaching Daisy through her contraction by alternating from their list and reminding her to breathe. Her grip on his hand hurt like hell, but he wasn’t going to tell her that.

When the contraction slowly subsided again, Daisy let herself fall back onto the mattress while still loosely holding onto Daniel’s hand. Sousa gasped as he saw the state of her arms, the skin was peppered with red and blue bruises, running from her wrist up to her elbow. “ _Daisy!”_ he gasped, “Your arms!”

Daisy opened her eyes and shakily held up her arms, slowly turning her wrists, too tired to really react. In comparison to the onslaught of contractions, her arms were just a minor pain. She swallowed, “The only way to control my powers, is to cast them inwards.”

Sousa was shocked by her admission, he didn’t even know it was a thing. “It breaks the bones in your arms?” he said stunned. 

Daisy shrugged, almost too exhausted to care, “Hairline fractures. I didn’t think it would get this bad…” 

Sousa blinked, gently running his fingers along her arms; the bruising looked horrifying, like nothing he’d ever seen before. 

Daisy let out a sound that almost resembled a chuckle, “I’m going to need my gauntlets”

Sousa glanced at Diaz, who nodded at him as if to say ‘ _go ahead, I got her’_ , and he stood up from his chair. “I’ll get them, I’ll be right back”. 

He rushed out of the room, and as soon as he closed the sliding door behind him, Kora ran up to him with a concerned look on her face, “How is she?”

Daniel acknowledged Kora by giving her a nod, but didn’t slow down his pace, “In a lot of pain, she can’t keep her powers contained. I am getting her gauntlets.”

Kora swallowed as she tried to keep up with him, “Abdul is worried about Z3…” she said. It was an understatement, as the quakes coming from Daisy were messing with the system. It was well equipped to handle all kinds of attacks from the outside, but from the inside the wiring and the intricate mainframe were now suddenly vulnerable to the violent trembles.

Sousa glanced at Kora, “Tell him to do anything they can to keep Z3 stabilized, Daisy is doing her best to keep it under control,” _breaking the bones in her arms in the process_ , he thought, as they finally reached the bunk. He looked around, their normally tidy living space looked disheveled and many of his books were on the ground, Daisy’s quakes must’ve reached the entire ship. He sighed and went straight to where he knew the gauntlets were stored. He rummaged through the closet and pulled them from underneath a pile of tarps. She hadn’t needed the gauntlets since they had left Moxan, and they had been left to gather dust along with the rest of her suit. 

Kora kept standing in the doorway with her arms folded, and swallowed “We’re all just worried.”

Sousa sighed, and turned around and walked up to Kora. “I know,” he said, and put his hand on her arm, “Me too, but I need you to step up and take charge, I need to be with Daisy. Her contractions are getting closer,” and as if on cue, the zephyr started shaking again. They both held onto the doorframe to keep themselves upright, and Sousa continued “which means the baby is almost here!”

Kora nodded, still holding on, “Wish her good luck from me,” and Daniel gave a nod in return, clamping the gauntlets under his arm as he ran back to the medic bay.

* * *

When Daniel opened the sliding door, the quakes had calmed down again, and Daisy was visibly heaving and shivering with her eyes shut. He hurried back to her and reached for her right arm and began to strap on the gauntlet around it, before going to the other side and doing the same thing. Daisy watched him silently as he did, grateful she didn’t have to do anything right now. When Daniel finished fastening the gauntlet to her arm, he bent over to kiss her clammy forehead. Daisy reached up and cupped the side of his face, still shivering. “Thank you”, she said with a warm smile. Daniel shook his head, and put his hand on hers, and kissed the palm of her hand, “Thank _you_.” he responded. 

She dropped her tired arm again and let her head drop to the other side where Diaz was, and begged, “I _really_ feel the urge to push... it’s like, it’s too much... _please_ tell me I’m ready?!”

Diaz nodded and dropped the clipboard she was holding, “Let me check you again,” and made quick work of putting on a new glove and checking the dilation on her patient. Diaz double-checked and a nervous smile appeared on her face. “Okay, Daisy, you’re ten centimeters and fully effaced. Ready to bring your baby girl into the world?”

Daisy blinked, and looked at Daniel in disbelief, they both hadn’t expect for it to go that fast. Daisy suddenly got the determined look on her face that Daniel knew and loved so well, “I’m ready.” she stated. 

Diaz quickly changed into paper surgery scrubs, as Daisy breathed through another contraction, the forceful pain now giving her barely time to take a breather. Daniel pulled up the sleeves of his shirt, as if he was about to clean up a spill, and Daisy looked at him, “What are you doing?” she wondered. 

Daniel gently helped her scoot forward onto the hospital bed, kicked off his shoes and joined her on the bed, sliding behind her. His body and arms now a strong support for Daisy’s aching body. “I’m not letting you do this alone,” he said, matching her determination, as Diaz helped Daisy position her legs in the right place.

Daisy let the tears freely flow, she was so tired and her hormones were all over the place, but she didn’t care anymore, she just felt so ready, as she settled into his hold. He kissed her behind her ear, and whispered “You got this,” and Daisy let her head fall back against him. He reached for her gauntlet-clad hands that were still strapped secularly around her arms, and held them in his. 

It didn’t take long before Daisy got another contraction, and Diaz and Daniel coached her to push. Daisy started to bear down for the first time, finally feeling more in control of her own body, not just the seemingly useless painful contractions coursing through her. The quakes that followed were still there, but it was more focused and less intense now that she had her gauntlets on, and a clear goal to channel the energy to. Daisy let herself fall back onto Daniel’s chest with a sob, loosening a bit of the grasp on his hands. 

“You’re doing great, Daisy,” Diaz said at her feet, but Daisy had barely any time to react before she felt another contraction hit. She pushed and pushed again, this repeated for a while until Diaz gasped and smiled beneath Daisy’s legs, “She’s crowning, I can see the top of the head!”

Daisy let out a cry of relief, the endless pushing felt like it was going nowhere, so a confirmation that her baby was actually on her way out was nice to hear.

“You hear that? She’s almost here!” Daniel softly exclaimed. 

Daisy had known pain, sometimes even thrived on it. But nothing compared to this, she’d rather get kicked the crap out of her by a league of watchdogs than the pain she had to endure right now. 

Feeling her power wane after every push, Daniel was starting to get worried. He raised his eyebrows at Diaz in concern, who looked back at him, equally worried.

Diaz had assisted in a few births in medical school, about seven years ago, but none of them had taken place in space or without a trained obstetrician in the room. Then, looking at pale, suffering Daisy, she shook off her own insecurities and encouraged her patient to breathe, while having a quick listen to the baby’s heartbeat through the stethoscope. With a smile she nodded at Daniel. “Everything is fine, you and baby are just tired, but you’re almost there,” she said, but Daisy panted with her eyes closed, not really giving much of a reaction.

“Hey, I’m here, we’re in this together”, Sousa whispered in her ear.

Daisy let out a groan, heaving as she tried to get more oxygen into her lungs, “Then why am _I_ the one pushing right now?” she said with a bit of a bite. 

“Because we both know you’re the strongest of us two, you can do this,” he answered without missing a beat, glad that her sharpness was still there. 

Daisy wanted to respond but Mother Nature didn’t allow her any time, interrupting again with another painful contraction.

“Push, push, push, Daisy… not long now, the head, it’s almost here!”, Diaz kept encouraging, watching the top of the baby’s head slowly emerge after each contraction. “Okay, after this contraction, I want you to really bear down, you hear me, give me one really big push and then the head will be out!”

Daisy took a deep breath, feeling strengthened by Daniel’s firm hold on her, and as indeed the contraction hit her, she let out a scream and put everything she had into that push. With a big gush she felt the head finally emerge. The whole medic bay started to shake violently, several things fell down and chairs onto its side, but no one in the room seemed to notice.

“She’s here!” Diaz practically yelled, more excited than she’s ever been in her life. Daisy could tell she was trying to stay as professional as she could, but she also knew the doctor between her legs was her friend and not exactly a midwife. “You can touch her if you want? If you put your hand down, you -”

Daniel hesitated, but Daisy shook her head, “I just want her _out_!” she howled.

Diaz gave her a nod, “Alright, breathe, breathe! We’re going to need to get the shoulders out and then she’ll be here!”

“You better be right!” Daisy groaned. 

“Give me your all, Johnson!” Diaz said.

“You got _this_ , we can almost meet her!” Daniel said in her ear, giving her hands a squeeze as encouragement.

Daisy closed her eyes, took in a sharp inhale of air through her nose and at the first sign of the contraction, bore down like she had never done before, not caring about anything or anyone but getting her baby into the world. The lights around them started flickering and with a loud bang one of the hospital overhead lights shattered, almost like fireworks. But not even that deterred her. In a reflex Diaz shielded Daisy’s lower body with her own surgery gown. Daisy’s yell echoed through the medic bay and as she felt like she had nothing to give anymore, she _finally_ felt the baby leave her body. 

“She’s here!” Diaz exclaimed, ripping off her torn gown with one hand, and tossing it aside, holding on to the slippery baby with the other. She held the baby up, and quickly transferred her onto her mother’s chest. The infant quickly started wailing, showing off her strong lungs, even for a baby that was born too early. Daisy quickly gathered the newborn in her arms and with shaking hands hushed her softly. “Hey, baby...” she said, completely stunned, she couldn’t believe it was actually there, she was actually holding the baby she had been carrying around for so long. A tear fell on Daisy’s shoulder, and she tilted her head against Daniel’s wet cheek.

“Oh my god,” he breathed, his arms coming around Daisy and carefully brushed along the baby’s small body with gentle hands. The couple could hear Diaz say something about cutting the umbilical cord, delivering the placenta and not needing stitches, but even though they could hear all of it, they were too much enthralled with their _daughter_ to have a conversation.

Diaz quietly hummed to herself while putting a warm towel on the scale, tears of relief and joy burning behind her eyes.

The baby had stopped crying and was now slowly opening her blurry dark eyes, taking in the world around her for the first time, the tiny cheek squished against Daisy’s chest. “She’s perfect,” Daniel said in awe.

Diaz apologized and carefully picked up the infant from the new parents, “I’m going to clean her up and do a quick check up, see if everything is okay, alright. She’s staying right here, I promise.”

Daisy regretfully let go of her newborn daughter; her arms never felt so empty before, as she watched Diaz move her daughter away. “Stay with her,” she whispered to Daniel, it was not that she didn’t trust Diaz, but she had the overwhelming urge to have at least one of them close to their daughter at all times, and because she couldn’t be the one, Daniel needed to. She knew it was irrational, but she didn’t care. 

Daniel simply nodded, probably feeling the same thing, and carefully pushed her forward so he could slide behind her, and back onto his feet on the ground. His legs had gone numb from sitting in the same awkward position for a long time, and he hobbled over to where Diaz was checking up on his daughter. 

Diaz smiled at the new father, and swaddled the baby in a comfy blanket, “Here,” she said softly, and held up the infant for Daniel to hold, “She’s perfectly healthy.”

Daniel swallowed, the times he had held a baby could be counted on one hand, and he suddenly got nervous. 

Diaz could see the hesitation and just whispered, “You got this.”

Daniel gave her a nod in return, and held his baby girl in his arms for the very first time. He gasped at how tiny she was, all content and swaddled as if being born had been nothing. He turned around, tears in his eyes as he smiled at Daisy, “Thank you, thank you,” he repeated breathlessly, not knowing how to express his utter gratitude towards Daisy for giving him a child, making him a father. Daisy gave a watery but radiant smile in return and beckoned for them to come closer. Diaz silently left the room, giving them a bit of privacy by standing right behind the sliding door, with her trembling hands stuck firm in her pockets.

Sousa pressed the gentlest of kiss above the baby’s eyebrow, his daughter giving a small squawk in return, before he lowered her back into her mother’s arms that were no longer wrapped in the gauntlets. He watched Daisy hold her with so much grace and confidence, and he knew that even with the many doubts that she had expressed over the months, that she was a natural. The contrast between the violence of nature, still seen in Daisy’s bruised arms, with the peaceful fragility of the baby’s little face sticking out of the blanket, struck Daniel as a once in a lifetime moment, and he had to sit down.

“I can’t believe she’s here,” Daisy whispered, and glanced at Daniel who, sat down next to her on a stool, was holding on to the bed, “we’re parents. Us, me…” as she trailed along the soft downy hairs on top of the baby’s head, “I’m a _mom_.”

“I know,” Daniel softly exclaimed, “you are”, letting out a deep breath. It wasn’t long before the infant was getting impatient, and started squirming and turning her head around in search of something. Daisy knew what this meant, she read about it, before they had entered the force field and the internet connection had failed on them. 

Daisy nervously smiled, “Well let’s try this, huh?” and awkwardly tried to unbutton the shirt she was wearing with one hand, and lowered it to the side. She propped her newborn up, and it didn’t take long before she latched on. Both parents let out a relieved sigh, as they watched their daughter eat for the first time. Daisy had expressed many times that she was scared that she might not be able to breastfeed, because even though they could improvise a lot on Z3, formula wasn’t one of them. So the fact that her baby latched on with quite ease, was a relief.

Daniel softly hummed, still with that smile plastered on his face that made her heart flutter, his hands never letting go of Daisy’s arm and the swaddled legs of their baby. “What are you thinking about?” Daisy asked.

He smiled, his head tilted, “She reminds me of my baby sister, Lottie, when she was just born.” He reminisced of when he was seven years old, and he came home from school, and his father whispered when he waved him into the bedroom, “Danny, someone wants to meet you,” and put finger on his lips to remind him to be very quiet. Very curious, Daniel had tiptoed to the crib in the corner and peered over the rim, and those big brown eyes had stared back at him. In awe, he had looked up at his father, who had said “you’re a big brother now, son”, and seven year old Daniel had nodded solemnly, full of a warmth he had never felt before.

Sousa smiled wistfully, how he missed his baby sister.

Daisy looked from Daniel to her baby at her breast and blinked, “Oh,” she said softly, “I like that.”

Daniel just hummed, as he couldn’t keep his eyes away from his newborn daughter, “Like what?”

“Lottie… Charlotte. Charlie?” she answered, thinking out loud. 

Daniel looked up, “You… want to name her, after… my sister?”

“I like it, Charlotte… I mean, if it doesn’t bring up painful memories for you, or…” 

Daniel blinked, clearly trying to keep his emotions in check. He hadn’t spoken much of his sister, because it was still painful to him. She had died tragically while he was fighting the Nazi’s. He had come back from the war with a busted leg, and to the news his sister had died of an infection that had quickly spread and taken her life. The medical world back then wasn’t as advanced as it was now. 

The wound of losing one of those dearest to him seemed now eased a bit by gaining one dearest to him, and he shook his head. “I love it,” he said, and he leaned over to give his fiancée a kiss on top of her head, but she looked up, and he kissed her soft lips. “I love you,” he said after they parted.

Daisy smiled back, “I love you too.” and looked back at her baby, “and we love you, _Charlie_ ,” she singsonged.

* * *

“Can I _please_ come in now?” Kora practically begged behind the sliding doors of the medic bay.

“I can’t hold her back much longer!” Diaz laughed, “are you ready for visitors?”

Daisy chuckled, she had wanted to spend some alone time with Daniel and their newborn, if only to take a shower before letting more people in, but with this new sense of family, she could hardly wait to introduce the new niece and aunt.

“You can come in, Kora!” Daisy yelled back.

Kora quickly opened the door and immediately gasped. “There she is!” she exclaimed and walked closer to Daisy who was propped up on the hospital bed with the sleeping baby in her arms.

Daniel had left to quickly freshen himself up too, after he had repeatedly asked if she was okay with it, practically needing for Diaz to shoo him out. 

Kora brusquely wiped away her unexpected tears while looking at the sleeping infant, “She’s so beautiful, Daisy.” She said in awe, “So what name did you guys decide on?”

Daisy beamed, “Thank you, we named her Charlotte or Charlie after Daniel’s sister, wanna hold her?”

“Ah... good name, classic, it fits her,” Kora stated, “And I, yes, of course, I um, made this for her while you were well… delivering her,” and suddenly pulled a wonky but perfect little elephant from behind her back. It was knitted from grey yarn and had a bow with polka dots round its neck.

Daisy gasped, “Kora…,” and looking closer at the polka dot bow, discovered “did you sacrifice your pajama pants?”

Kora smiled and shrugged, “Hope she enjoys it, every kid needs a stuffed animal,” and she placed the little elephant next to Daisy on the bed, and held out her arms. “Can I hold her?” she asked, suddenly timid.

Daisy carefully transferred her sleeping daughter into her sister’s arms and watched the two of them, and she knew Kora was going to be the crazy fun aunt and she couldn’t wait to see them together as Charlotte grew up. Kora cooed at the baby in her arms, “Nice to finally meet you, Charlie,” and looked to Daisy, “So how was it, giving birth I mean?”

Daisy groaned, it was still _very_ fresh on her mind, “I am _never_ ever going to do this again, at least not without drugs _and_ in a hospital on _Earth_.”

Kora shook her head, “You almost brought us all down with your powers, Abdul was running around like crazy trying to fix everything,” she said with a chuckle.

Daisy sighed and raised a bruised arm, “I’m sorry, I had no control over -“

Kora shook her head without looking up from her brand new niece, “Are you kidding me, you gave _birth_ without painkillers, you deserve to almost quake everything to pieces. Doesn’t she Charlie?”

Daisy let out a chuckle, followed by a big yawn. The adrenaline started to wear down, and she felt herself grow tired. 

Kora quickly picked up on it and whispered a goodbye to her niece, and put her back into her mother’s arms. “Go get some sleep, you’re gonna need it. I heard newborns are not the best of sleepers, and are _loud_.”

“Glad the bunks are soundproof, huh?” Daisy said with a chuckle.

Kora groaned, “In more ways than one, and I am not talking about the baby.”

“Shut up!” Daisy moaned, and let out a chuckle, “and tell the other’s they can meet Charlotte tomorrow, okay? And tell them I’m sorry.”

“They understand Daisy, they really do,” Kora said as she gave Daisy’s shoulder a gentle squeeze before leaving, “Get some rest.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Daisy answered.

As Kora walked out, Daniel walked in again, “Congrats Daddy,” Kora commented and winked before leaving the couple be. 

He looked like had gotten into some fresh clothes, as he wore _that_ blue shirt. “I love that shirt,” Daisy commented.

Daniel smiled as he walked closer, “We had our first kiss when I wore this, thought it was fitting.”

“For both of them,” Daisy said with a small chuckle.

“Yeah, but the first one isn’t fair, I don’t remember that one.” 

“Doesn’t change the fact that you wore it.” 

Daniel sighed and sat down next to her, “How’re you two doing?”

“We’re good, can you believe she’s here?”

“I cannot,” he answered her truthfully, thinking of how he could not stop grinning, nor shaking his head while getting dressed. 

He watched his baby daughter sleep in her mother’s arms, her _bruised_ arms, and he had never been more impressed by a human being. Seeing Daisy giving birth to their daughter, dealing with her powers and the ravaging effect it had on her body while simultaneously bringing a human being into the world, it had truly been an incredible ordeal - and she handled all of it like an absolute champ.

“When we’re back on Earth, the first thing I want to do is to marry you,” he stated.

Daisy looked up in his eyes, “You promise?”

“I promise.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There she is! Baby Charlotte/Charlie! The name was really the hardest part for me, but I think it's cute and fitting and I hope people aren't disappointed! This was maybe the toughest chapter i've ever have written, lol. 
> 
> I am looking forward to your comments, and until next week!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Welcome back! This chapter is pretty fluffy ngl, but I think we can use that after the drama that was the last chapter lol. Thanks again to my amazing beta Wlammy who has just been the best!
> 
> You can follow me on tumblr.com/marvelsquake

Something both parents had quickly learned about their baby daughter was how much she loved sleeping on Sousa’s chest. Like Daisy, their baby seemed to just love the rumble of Daniel’s voice as he spoke and his steady heartbeat to fall asleep to. Whenever Charlie was fussy or had a hard time going down for a nap, Sousa would simply drape his daughter over his chest and the infant would instantly relax. It was almost magical, and Daisy adored watching the two of them together. “I think it’s because you’ve read to us so much, she must recognize your voice,” Daisy said as she watched the both of them next to her in bed. 

It hadn’t been easy, adjusting to life with a newborn without the luxuries of earth, but they made do. Luckily newborns didn’t need much besides being fed, having a dry diaper, a comfortable place to sleep, and lots of love. Which was something the new parents were easily able to provide, even though the cloth diapers were still bit of a struggle. 

Daniel gently placed his hand on the sleeping baby’s back, it looked impossibly huge compared to the infant on his chest. Charlie’s eyes were closed, her cheek smushed against his chest and her little hand curling around his finger, very much milk drunk after just having been fed. Daisy reached out and trailed along the baby’s cap where soft wisps of dark hair peaked out from underneath. “Must say, Mr. Sousa, we make cute babies,” she said with a grin as she retreated her hand again, not wanting to wake her peacefully sleeping baby.

Daniel grinned as he looked down, “We sure do,” looking absolutely smitten. 

“She is _such_ a daddy’s girl,” Daisy breathed out.

Daniel chuckled, almost regretting it as his laughing jostled the baby, but she was still sound asleep, “She’s just as much a mommy girl, you know that.”

“Sure, when it’s dinnertime again.” 

“You are kidding right? The way she turns to you when you sing to her, that’s magic.”

Daisy smiled softly, and lovingly laid her hand against his face, caressing his cheekbone with her thumb, and sighed. Her heart almost felt heavy with how much she loved him and their little Charlotte, and she pensively combed her fingers through his hair. It had grown a little too long and a small patch of grey had started next to his temples, which Daisy actually found to be pretty attractive.

“Do you think Jemma told people?” Daisy suddenly wondered out loud, dropping her hand again, still watching the father-daughter duo next to her.

“Told people what?” Sousa responded, letting out a yawn and covering it with the back of his hand before returning it to rest on his daughter’s back, his eyes bleary from sleep.

“About the baby, she’s the only one who knew I was pregnant, but I asked her to tell nobody, and soon after we disappeared, so…”

Daniel hummed, frowning slightly, “I’m not sure, you know her better… But after months she might think… they might think we’re -“

“Dead?”, Daisy finished his sentence, and swallowed.

“Yeah...”

Daisy sighed, “Maybe, I mean, it’s been months. But I don’t think they’d give up on us that quickly. After all we’ve been through.”

Daniel nodded in agreement. “Only a short few weeks until we’re on Augnum and we can return _home_ ,” he said as he softly stroked the little fist of his daughter with his thumb that was still clamped around his finger.

Daisy sighed, “Can’t wait,” and pushed herself up from the bed, rubbing her eyes, feeling very much tired from waking up all night to tend to her baby, “You stay with her while I change, and then switch?”

Daniel hummed and watched her get off from the bed, her moves still very calculated, as she was still very much sore from having given birth only a few days prior. With a soft hiss she stretched and walked to the bathroom, disappearing behind the door. In the meantime Charlie had woken up, and was quietly taking in the world around her. Daniel noticed and stroked the baby’s back with his fingertips, “Can’t wait to show you what earth’s like, Charlie,” he mused, smiling as he thought back on his own childhood, “My dad used to take me into the woods and he taught me everything there was to know about plants, the animals living there, the flowers… When you’re a little older I’ll show you too.”

“You two are gonna be so cute on adventures together” Daisy said with a chuckle as she walked out of the bathroom, already dressed. Her outfit was not much different from when she was still pregnant as she was a bit self-conscious about her postpartum body, and she just wanted to be comfortable. 

Daniel grinned and sat up, carefully lifting Charlie from his chest and into his arms. The baby let out a grunt of dismay but quickly settled, and when Daisy walked over to take her from Daniel’s arms, she let out a little yawn before resting her little head against her mother’s warm chest. It moved Daisy every time, to see their baby feel so safe and satisfied, and she gently rocked her back and forth.

Daniel, in the mean time, let out a big yawn, stretching his arms above him, and got out of the bed too, still rubbing his eyes. He walked across the room, crouched down, and with a lazy arm opened the dresser to take clean clothes from it, but he was too tired, and forgot what he was looking for.

Daisy suddenly frowned, and lifted her baby to her face before scrunching her nose, “Wow, thanks Charlie…” and sighed, walking over to the makeshift changing table that was really their dresser, “You couldn’t do that when daddy was still holding you, huh?” she said with a chuckle as she started to remove the cloth diaper. 

Daniel shook his head and stood back up to hand Daisy a fresh diaper, “Told you she loves you,” he joked. 

Daisy chuckled, “Clearly,” and whipped him with the clean cloth before folding it into a diaper, “Now go shower.”

“Yes ma’am,” he said with a grin, got his clean clothes, and made his way over to the shower, taking his shirt off in the process.

Daisy shook her head as she proceeded to put on the fresh diaper, and disposing the old one, ready to be thrown in the laundry with the others. “Your daddy is so annoying,” she joked as she pulled the baby’s shirtdress back down over Charlie’s legs, “but we love him, don’t we?”

She was kind of glad that Kora wasn’t able to sew the bottom part of the outfit because the open end made a quick diaper change really easy. 

Daisy put Charlie into her laundry basket bassinet, and the baby promptly started to whimper softly, always wanting to be held. They mostly did so, not wanting to leave her without any baby monitors on board, and Diaz read up on how bodily contact was really important for a baby’s development, especially in the case of a premature birth. Daisy refused to co-sleep, on account of being a bit of a wild sleeper, and was way too afraid to accidentally roll over, so they chose the baby wearing approach for most of the day and let her safely sleep in her bassinet at night.

Daisy placed her hand on her baby’s chest, softly shushing her, showing that she was still there, which seemed to help. And with a sigh she sat down on the bed, absentmindedly putting on her boots that she hadn’t been able to wear for a long time. Her feet had gotten so swollen by the end of the pregnancy; almost none of her footwear fit her anymore.

Then it dawned on her that not only her feet had apparently gotten back to its normal size, her fingers had too. She smiled and got up from the bed and walked over to her nightstand where she opened the drawer and took out the small blue velvet box where she had lovingly stored her engagement ring in. After only a few weeks of wearing it, her finger had turned white from the blood flow being restricted and she had regretfully taken it off.

Daisy took the sparkly ring from its box and carefully slipped it around her finger, smiling as it fitted perfectly again.

“Shouldn’t I be the one doing that?” Sousa suddenly boomed behind her. 

Daisy jumped a little and turned around, and smiled, “Look, it fits again,” and held up her hand, wiggling her fingers.

Daniel beamed, and took her hand in his, admiring the ring he had picked out when they were still back on earth. “Can’t wait for the other ring to join this one,” he said, and kissed her hand.

Daisy nodded and looked up with a grin. Daniel smiled back and leaned in for a kiss. Just as their lips touched, Charlie interrupted them with a cry. Sousa chuckled and Daisy just sighed and shook her head, “Someone’s jealous.”

“Clearly,” he said as he pulled the infant from her basinet, and the cries quickly stopped. “Spoiled little thing, aren’t you?” he said as he nuzzled into the baby’s hair and took in her intoxicating new baby smell.

“Says the one who spoils her,” Daisy said with a smirk and looked at the father-daughter duo.

He chuckled and gushed, “Can you blame me? _Look_ at her…” 

Daisy shook her head and looked at the clock next to the bed, “We really gotta go, they’re waiting for us.”

“Do you wanna carry her or should I?”

Daisy pondered for a second, “Let me, I think she wants to eat again, soon. After that you can take her for a little while.”

“Alright,” he said and watched Daisy wrap the large piece of fabric around her body. When they still had internet access, Sousa had done lots of research and stumbled upon a DIY baby wrap method. He never really gave it much of a thought, but screenshotted it anyway, after Daisy had explained him how to, which eventually resulted in hundreds of screenshots of several articles, tips and how-to’s, that later turned out be to be quite the blessing, as they now had still tons of information without having the internet at their disposal.

Daisy gestured for Daniel to hand Charlie over, and he lowered her into her mother’s arms. Daisy wrapped the last part of the fabric around her daughter and made sure she was secure and comfortable. 

“Alright,” she said with a sigh, after pressing a gentle kiss on top of the baby’s head, “Let’s go.”

* * *

Kora reached out for Charlie’s dangling little foot that stuck out from the wrap, as soon as Daisy entered the cockpit. “God, I just want to nibble on those toes,” she said with a grin.

Daisy chuckled, “When you’re done eating my daughter’s feet, would you mind telling me how the flight is going?” 

“They’re just too cute,” Kora jokingly whined and reluctantly let go of the little foot, focusing on her view. “We’re doing well, not much to see; if we indeed don’t run into an asteroid storm, I think we can reach our destination within the planned two weeks,” 

Daisy let out a relieved sigh, subconsciously bouncing on her feet to keep her half dozing baby happy. She suddenly noticed the co-pilot chair wasn’t filled. “Where’s Torres?”

“Why would I know where Torres is?” Kora answered, her voice a little curt.

Daisy raised her eyebrow at the weird response, “Calm down, was just wondering, thought you might know.”

Kora shook her head and strictly looked ahead, “Maybe having breakfast, I don’t know.”

Daisy frowned, squinting for a moment, but eventually shook her head and sat down next to Kora, admiring the view for a moment before turning her head to her sister, “I wanted to talk to you about something.”

Kora looked to her side, and gave a nod, “Okay, shoot.”

“I wanted to make sure that you didn’t feel hurt or passed that we’ve used Diaz’s name as Charlie’s second name, and not yours.”

Kora blinked and tilted her head, “What? No, of course not! I get it, it’s special. Besides Charlotte Alexandra sounds so much better than Charlotte Kora. It’s okay, really.”

Daisy let out a relieved breath, “Okay, good. Just wanted to make sure.”

They had decided that because there were so many amazing women in Daisy’s life that it would be impossible to name their baby after all of them. Jemma, Kora and May being a few who came to mind. Then they thought of Diaz who had been an amazing friend, coaching her through her pregnancy and making sure she was healthy, mentally and physically. 

She really had been her rock, and on top of all of that, she delivered her baby, which must not have been easy. She did it with so much strength and compassion, Daisy really counted herself lucky to have Diaz on board. So when they asked Diaz what her full name was, and Alex turned out to be shortened for Alexandra, the couple looked at each other in excitement: it was perfect. Diaz, who was normally calm and professional, had tears well up in her eyes, and thanked the couple for such an honor. And so, their daughter finally had a name. 

Kora looked up, feeling relieved Daisy seemed to have dropped the Torres topic entirely, and joked “You can always name your next baby after me.”

Daisy smiled and said, “Yeah, okay, I’ll get right on that”, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

She relaxed in the chair and watched the nebula in front of them, it still amazed her how beautiful these things were. Even after spending so much time in space, the curls and swirls of light and stardust were still as fascinating as ever. She adjusted the wrap and allowed Charlie a view, and even with the limited eyesight of a newborn, the baby seemed to be enamored with the lights and how it reflected on the glass, causing it to sparkle in the window. 

“So, what’s up with you and Torres, huh?” Daisy asked, without really looking up, “Did you two have a fight?”

Kora let out a grunt, caught off guard, and mumbled, “Just because I don’t know where she is, doesn’t mean we had a fight.”

“I know, but you two have been so close lately, I just thought…”

“She’s in love with me, if you must now,” Kora suddenly blurted out, her cheeks turning red, “she told me yesterday.”

Daisy’s eyes grew big, “Oh,” and then it dawned on her how much it made sense. “And you don’t feel the same way?”, she carefully inquired.

Kora took a deep breath, still blushing all the way to her neck. “I… I just don’t know, I just never really thought about her like that, I mean I love her but… I never really been, you know, with a girl. It’s all very confusing.”

“But you do… like her?” 

Kora was silent for a few seconds and swallowed, “I think I do…”

Daisy smiled, “But that’s good, right?”

Kora looked down, and shook her head remorsefully, “I think I kind of messed it up... after she confessed, I kind of panicked ... and told her that I didn’t feel the same way, that I am not gay, and I think I really hurt her.”

“Oh Kora, you need to go talk to her…”

“And tell her what? That I just don’t know? I know the world has changed since the ‘80s, but…” she sighed, “It feels weird. What if she just likes me because we are stuck together on this ship, what if that’s why I feel things for her? It wouldn’t be fair…”

“I think you might be overthinking it a little, just go talk to her. You’ve spent months together on board, I’m sure she’s interested in what you have to say...”

Kora shrugged, “Maybe.”

Daisy reached out for her sister’s hand and gave it a quick squeeze, “But thanks for telling me,” she said with a smile.

Kora gave a faint smile in return, and nodded to herself. 

Daisy turned her attention to Charlie who had started to fuss, and offered her pinky to soothe her baby with, but she was not satisfied by a mere finger, so Daisy figured she must’ve gotten hungry. “Mind if I -?”

Kora looked to her side, “Oh no, of course not,” still very much in thought. 

Daisy was able to quickly loosen the fabric around her baby and unbutton the shirt she had borrowed from Sousa to give access to her daughter, so she could nurse. Charlie latched on and was instantly satisfied, making soft grunts and suckling noises. Daisy leaned back into the chair, occasionally wincing as her daughter was a little too enthusiastic about being fed. 

“You know,” Daisy said looking back at her sister, adjusting the hold on her daughter a little, “I sometimes think I’m bi.”

Kora blinked, “Bi? As in bisexual?”

Daisy hummed, “Yeah, I never really explored it or had the chance to, really. But yeah, I think so.”

A charged silence remained in the cockpit for a few seconds, and Kora wondered if Daisy could hear her heartbeat.

“You think I could be bi?”

Daisy smiled, “I think you know that better about yourself than I do, but maybe?”

Kora looked pensively, and stared into nothing, “Maybe,” she repeated. 

Daisy decided to leave Kora alone with her thoughts, keeping her eyes on her content baby at her breast, sometimes tenderly caressing her little cheek or ear. She loved the fact Daniel could see a resemblance of his sister in their daughter. She hoped it could heal him for some of the hurt of losing his baby sister. Others on the team, though, said they could clearly see a lot of her in Charlie too. She wasn’t really sure about that, there were no baby pictures of her or Sousa to really compare it to, and all newborns kind of looked the same to her anyway. She couldn’t wait for her to grow a little more and become her own little person.

After a while, Daisy could feel her baby relax, and the suckling slowed down at the exact moment Sousa had come by to check up on his family, and to see if she was ready to switch. Daisy gratefully handed him their baby who needed to be burped, and she redressed herself again. She put the safety pin from her left bra strap to the right, making sure to know which side to feed Charlie on the next time, one of the many useful tricks Sousa had taken a screenshot of.

Sousa draped a hand towel and then his daughter over his shoulder and gave soft taps on her back, which resulted in a healthy burp. Gently, he wiped Charlie’s mouth with a corner of the towel and checked to see if his shoulder was clean. In the meantime, he had noticed that Kora wasn’t her usual chatty self, but he decided to follow Daisy’s example by not commenting on it.

Daisy pulled the fabric from around her body and helped it tie around Sousa who wasn’t as skilled in wrapping it around his body as Daisy had become. He settled Charlie into the sling, who was now dozed off, clearly content and milk drunk. 

Daisy said a quick goodbye to Kora, and gave her a wink before walking with Sousa through the hallway of Z3.

“Everything okay with her? She seemed upset,” he asked, his hands softly stroking the back of the baby strapped to his chest.

Daisy simply hummed, “Yeah, just some sisterly things. Don’t worry.”

“Alright,” he answered, not the kind of guy to pry anyway. 

Daisy knew Kora had told her in confidence, and even though she knew Sousa wouldn’t make a big deal out of it, it didn’t feel right to just tell him when Kora was clearly not ready.

“Everything okay with Abdul and Masters?” Daisy inquired, while walking into the kitchen. Like always after nursing, she was craving water, and filled a glass with water from the tap. “Abdul is good, everyone is good... a little bored even,” Daniel said with a faint smile. Daisy took a big few swigs of water and wiped her mouth with he back of her hand. She tilted her head at her fiancé, “What are you not telling me?”

Sousa sighed and sat down, careful not to squish the baby too much, “It’s Masters. Let’s just say he voiced his _opinion..._ ”

Daisy cocked her eyebrow, “Did he really? Well we were waiting on that, huh?”

Sousa slowly nodded, “Yes, apparently us having a baby is unacceptable. Poor Masters, how can one be _that_ conservative. I’m not, and I was born in 1919.”

Daisy walked over to him, and smiled, running her hand through his hair, “Yes, but you’re special, and one of the reasons why I fell in love with you.” 

Daniel smiled back at her and closed his eyes for a brief moment, enjoying her fingers brushing through his hair.

Daisy contemplated “I do get it, though, if it were me, a few years ago, and I was on a space mission to discover parts of our universe... and my two bosses got together... And had a baby... On _board_? Without contact to Earth? I would not have liked it either. He’s just focused on his career, he’s more of a military man than we are. I say we let him be grumpy about it.”

Daniel sighed, “Alright, but I had a hard time to not loose my temper.”

Daisy cracked a smile, “I can imagine. Don’t think I could’ve kept my mouth shut either.” She took another sip of her water and sighed, “Alright, I am going to make my rounds, you two okay?”

“Of course.”

“Good, see you in a bit.” She said with a sigh, reluctant to leave him. She really wanted to kiss him because of how cute he looked with his mussed hair and their baby asleep on his chest, but they tried to refrain from too much intimacy in public spaces on Z3, wanting to stay at least a bit professional. 

“Alright,” he answered, feeling the same way, and Daisy managed to turn around and do her job.

* * *

Daisy took a clipboard with the inventory list and started with the first closet. “Torres!” she exclaimed, suddenly noticing the agent sitting behind a piece of equipment. 

“Oh, sorry! Didn’t mean to scare you!” Torres said as she revealed herself, the embarrassment readable on her face.

Daisy let out a chuckle, “It’s okay, just didn’t expect you here during the early shift. What are you even doing here?”

“Oh, just inspecting stuff, double-checking on the samples...”

Daisy cocked her eyebrow but chose to not say anything, “Alright, I was already wondering where you were.” Daisy had no desire to meddle into her sister’s love life, especially since she was technically both their superior, so she turned around to leave.

“I guess Kora told you, huh?” Torres said, brushing her curly hair from her face, trying to seem nonchalant.

Daisy turned back around and opened her mouth, not really knowing what to say, but when she saw Torres’ forlorn facial expression, her heart broke for the poor co-pilot.

“She did. But I promise you, I won’t tell or meddle, it’s between you guys.”

Torres sighed, unsure what to say but really needing to talk to someone about it, “I’m sorry I jeopardized the mission, I should’ve been more professional. It just blurted out.” Awkwardly, she put her hands in her pockets and looked away.

Daisy cracked a smile and shook her head, walking up to her team mate that she considered a friend and put her hand on her shoulder, “Hey, don’t worry about it. You didn’t jeopardize anything, these things happen. You’re only human after all. It’s not like Sousa and I just had a _baby_ or anything, which was _very_ professional...”

That made Torres smile, and she looked up at Daisy. “So how’d you, you know, with Sousa... You met on mission too, right?”, she dared to ask, her green eyes sparkling with curiosity.

Daisy cleared her throat, “Well, I guess we just both felt there was something between us. And at a dangerous part of the mission, he just kissed me,” smiling to herself when remembering. Technically, she kissed Sousa first, but now was not the time to explain the whole time loop thing to Torres, or to relive all of that. “It was one of those unexpected things, and we just... _knew_.”

Torres bit her lip regretfully and nodded.

Daisy felt bad and wished it was as easy for Torres and Kora. “Don’t think that really helped, huh?”

Torres shrugged, “I ruined it anyway. Sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“It’s okay, it really is. Give her some time, and stop hiding in the supply closet, you almost gave me a heart attack,” Daisy said with a wink. Torres’ dimple deepened when she smiled, grateful to have an understanding colleague and boss. Daisy left Torres, keeping the door opened as she left. Torres straightened her back, turned off the light and carefully shut the door behind her. Her tread down the hallway was a little lighter than before, now that she felt the smallest inkling of hope.

* * *

Daisy groaned as she kicked her shoes off and let herself collapse backwards on the bed, letting out a big yawn in the process. She felt bone tired, even if it was really a slow day. Were she on Earth, she’d be on maternity leave right now, mostly resting and snuggling, but when you’re literally stationed and living in your place of work, there was not much you could do but _be_ at work, even with a newborn that needed a lot of attention and kept you up at night. 

She looked at the little stuffed animal that Kora made that was resting on her nightstand and smiled to herself, thinking of her sister and Torres, hoping they’d work it out. Right now, however, all she really wanted was for Sousa to return with their baby and cuddle in bed, and think of nothing else even close to work-related. Just as she was about to nod off, Daniel and Charlie returned to the bunk and closed the door behind him. 

He smirked as he saw her flat on her back on the bed, “Tired?”

“Gimme my baby,” she responded, reaching out her arms and wiggling her fingers, still flat on her back.

Daniel shook his head as he carefully pulled Charlie from her cocoon, “That’s how it is now, huh?”

Daisy really thought when she was still pregnant that she could be rational and not need her baby with her at all times, but she quickly discovered when Charlie was born it was a real struggle. Not that she didn’t trust Sousa with their daughter, or even that she felt relief once she could take a little break now and then, but she had turned in a total mama bear, and decided to just embrace it. 

Slowly, Daisy propped herself back up. Sitting cross-legged hurt the least on her sore body right now, and she smiled at her fiancé when he carefully handed Charlie over. She couldn’t help but coo as she felt the comforting weight of her daughter in her arms, and she cradled her against her chest and kissed her forehead, closing her eyes to take in her scent and little noises. “Hmm, I missed you”, she hummed and Charlie looked up in response to her mother’s voice, her big brown eyes alert and wide awake. Daisy made sure to hold her face close to Charlie’s, knowing the baby would be extremely nearsighted for at least a few more weeks.

Daniel stretched his arms and let out a big yawn himself, glad to be able to freely move his body again without having to make sure not to squish his daughter. He kicked off his shoes and joined his girls on the bed. “Hey,” he said and leaned over.

“Hey,” Daisy answered and pecked him on the lips, “everything went well with the two of you?”

Daniel grinned, and let out a sigh as he reached for the baby’s dangling foot, “Well she definitely listened to you this morning, that’s for sure, she gave me some amazing blow-out diapers,” and scrunched his nose in disgust thinking back.

Daisy scrunched her nose in unison with him, and let out a chuckle before whispering a “Good girl,” into her daughter’s ear and scooted herself backwards so she could rest her back against the headboard of the bed. Daniel joined them, lying on his side, supporting his head on his hand as he silently watched Daisy play with their daughter.

“I wanted to talk to you about something,” Daisy said without looking up.

“Oh?”

“Remember when I said this morning on how we make cute babies?”

Daniel frowned, “Yeah?” he blinked and cleared his throat, “You don’t want a second baby right now, right? I mean she’s beautiful but it might be a bit much to -”

“Whoa, Danny-boy! That’s not what I am saying,” Daisy responded and laughed, groaning at the though of getting pregnant again so soon. “My body isn’t even close to healed, no, that’s not what I meant,”

“So what do you mean?”

“Since we were expecting Charlie, I keep thinking back of my own childhood and how I didn’t have a mom and dad to love me like we love Charlie here, and I now know why I never got adopted because of SHIELD’s interference, well... you know the story. But I think of all the other kids, great kids, who were with me at the orphanage who didn’t get to be adopted and I…” she swallowed and continued misty eyed, “Seeing you with our daughter, I just think we’re solid, and I really like to maybe go down the adoption route in the future.”

Sousa raised his eyebrow and took a moment to think, “I never really thought about it, but… yeah, I really like that idea.”

“You do? Even if that means that Charlie _might_ be our only biological kid?”

Daniel shrugged, “You’re right, there are so many kids out there that need a good home, I think we can provide them that. But I hope you’re talking for way in the future because, -”

“Oh definitely, definitely,” she quickly agreed. “Just something I’d been thinking about,” and she turned her attention back to the sleepy baby in her arms. A warmth bloomed in her chest thinking of her future.

“Any child would be lucky to call you their mom,” Sousa said as he kissed her shoulder.

Daisy smiled and shook her head, “Don’t discount yourself, Daniel. You’ve been amazing.”

Just when he was about to respond, a loud banging could be heard on their bunk door and Charlie immediately started to cry. Daisy, a little annoyed, bounced her baby in her arms. “Yes, come in, what is it?” she responded more snappy than usual. Daniel got up from the bed and walked over to the door, which got opened by an elated Kora. 

“We’re almost there!”

“ _There_?” Daisy responded in unison with Daniel. 

Kora let out an exasperated sigh, “Augnum, first moon of Moxan, _Augnum_! Only a few more days and we can land!”

Daisy got up from the bed and stepped into her slippers, her whimpering baby still firmly in her arms. Daniel quickly put on his shoes, and both of them followed Kora to the controls where Torres was seated with a big smile on her face, with Abdul, Diaz and Masters leaning over her chair to take in the view.

“See, look there it is!” Kora said and pointed at the moon, still far away, but now finally close enough and in the proper calculated place in its orbit around Moxan.

“Landing will be tricky, but we’ll definitely be there sooner than we thought!”, Torres exclaimed.

Kora poked Abdul and said, “Look, even Masters is smiling!” 

Masters shrugged but indeed looked relieved.

Daisy let out a relieved breath, “Not long now, and we can go _home.”_

Daniel put arm around his fiancée and sighed, “ _Finally_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not long before they return to earth now and be reunited with their team/family!
> 
> I love writing baby Charlie so much, it's so cute lol. Also I always had this headcanon that Daisy would want to adopt and Kora has always given me gay vibes?? idk. 
> 
> Comments are very much appreciated, thanks for reading and until next week!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I am not gonna lie, this chapter was partially inspired by seeing a picture of Enver Gjokaj with a beard (google it, it's glorious) thank you SO MUCH to my beta Wlammy who goes through my 6000+ chapters and elevates it like no one else can <3

“Sit still,” Daisy chuckled, holding Daniel’s head between her hands while standing behind him. 

Daniel looked at her through the reflection of the mirror with a worried expression on his face, “Maybe this isn’t such a good idea…” he mumbled.

Daisy sighed as she trailed her fingers through his dark curls and shook her head, “Your hair has gotten way too long, you said it yourself!”

“I know…”

Daisy leaned over and pressed her cheek against his, his beard tickling her, as she looked at him through the mirror and smiled, “Don’t you trust your future wife?”

“I do trust my future wife, just maybe not my current fiancée…” he said, finishing his sentence with a big smirk, clearly teasing.

Daisy gasped, sometimes she was still so surprised by his wit, “It’s either this, a buzzcut like Abdul, or a little bald spot in the back like Charlie... You decide. Don’t you want to look presentable for Augnum? For earth?” 

“Alright,” Daniel grumbled, “I trust you, just don’t go too short.”

Daisy shook her head as she stood up straight again, shooting a quick glance at their baby who was peacefully asleep in her basinet, and reached for some sharpened scissors. For one last time she combed her fingers through his long thick hair and started to carefully cut it. She did have some experience cutting hair from when she was a teenager and helped her fellow teens out at the orphanage, and later even for her team when they didn’t have time to go to a salon, but classic men’s hair was a lot different than just some split ends. 

Daniel watched how she snipped away, deep in concentration with her tongue peaking out. He tried his best not to wince as he saw locks of dark hair fall on the towel draped over his shoulders. 

“If you keep wincing, I’d rather have you close your eyes, or I am going to turn you around,” she threatened. 

Daniel chuckled, “Alright, alright. I’m sorry, i’ll just close my eyes.”

Daisy shook her head lovingly and continued as Daniel relaxed in his chair with his eyes closed. He looked like he was about to fall asleep, which she wouldn’t blame him for, as they hadn’t gotten much sleep with Charlie intermittently crying her little lungs out at night, demanding their attention.

Daisy paused and combed through his hair with a fine-tooth comb, inspecting her work, before taking off a little more length and smiled. “Alright, you can open your eyes again!” she said as she styled his hair with her fingers.

Daniel blinked, and smiled, turning his head around to inspect his new hairdo, “Wow, it looks really good!”

“Don’t sound _too_ surprised,” Daisy said with a chuckle, “but it looks good, I agree.”

“Thank you,” he said, and let his head fall backwards.

Daisy shook her head, and craned her neck to give him an upside down kiss, “You’re welcome.”

She ran her hands through his hair once more and smiled, “Maybe I should’ve given you a mohawk instead…,”

“What’s a mohawk?” Daniel wondered.

“Oh right,” Daisy said with a chuckle, “there was this subculture in like the ‘70s and ‘80s called Punk, where people often wore their hair straight up, with the sides shaved,” and she demonstrated it by pulling his hair to the middle and upright between the palms of her hands. 

Daniel blinked, “Well, I am glad you didn’t…”

Daisy combed his hair back with her fingers and put her hands on his shoulders, “Maybe another time,” she said with a grin.

“Guess I should go for a shave too, huh?”, Daniel said as he ran his hand along his jaw where the subtle stubble had formed into more of a scruff. He really hadn’t taken the time to give himself a clean shave since Charlie was born, and with his rapid beard growth it quickly turned into a full on daddy-beard, as Daisy had called it.

Daisy hummed, “I like it,” as she ran her fingers along his jawline, enjoying the way the scruff felt against the palm of her hand, “It’s kinda hot,” and grinned.

Daniel sat up and carefully pulled the towel covered with hair from his shoulders, “Well, I guess I’ll keep it a little longer then,” he said with a wink, “I’ll just quickly trim the moustache then”, and let out a big yawn, “it was nice to be able to close my eyes for a while,” he said while suppressing a second yawn. 

He shaped his moustache with a few careful snips while Daisy sighed in agreement, “I bet, I could use a nap too.” She looked at her peacefully sleeping baby, looking so cute on her back with her little balled fists next to her head, an occasional little foot kicking out in her sleep. 

“Why can’t she sleep like this at night,” Daisy said with an exasperated sigh that ended in a chuckle, and sleepily leaned against Daniel.

Daniel put the scissors away, got up and wrapped his arms around her. 

“We could go for a nap too, you know. There’s not much happening, baby’s asleep, we’re not close to Augnum yet…”, he tried to persuade her.

Daisy rubbed her eyes, “I wish… But I promised Diaz a visit with Charlie, she wanted to do her check-up now that she’s a week old. Of me too.”

“Right…” he sighed, “Who needs sleep anyway, right?” and kissed her shoulder.

“Well, clearly _we_ do,” Daisy said as she suppressed a yawn herself.

Daniel shook his head, “A week old already…” 

He breathed out after a moment of silence where’d they just watched their baby sleep. 

“Crazy, huh?”

Daniel hummed in response, silently wondering if it was possible to fall asleep while standing upright, until Charlie started to stir and let out a cry in dismay of simply being awake.

“Alright, that’s my cue,” Daisy said with a chuckle, as she leaned forward to gather the baby in her arms. She smiled as she slowly bounced on her feet, kissing the top of the downy head and whispering soft nothings until Charlie relaxed, and leaned against her mother’s chest, content again.

“Shall I come with?” Daniel asked as he watched Daisy check Charlie’s diaper that seemed to be dry from the looks of it. 

Daisy hummed, “No, it’s okay. Maybe better if you take lead and check how everyone is doing”, and she skillfully put Charlie in the DIY baby wrap.

“Alright, you sure?”

“Yeah, of course. It’s just a check-up,” Daisy responded and gave his arm a reassuring squeeze.

Daniel gave her a nod, and leaned in for a kiss. “I’ll see you in a bit,” he said as they parted, and leaned over to place a kiss on top of the baby’s head as well, “you too, Charlie.”

* * *

Diaz pulled the stethoscope from her ears and smiled, “Her heart sounds good, she’s in good health,” and brushed her finger along the baby’s cheek with a fond smile, “And _very_ cute.”

Daisy let out a relieved breath and smiled at her daughter, the infant’s curious brown eyes looking up to where the adults were talking. Daisy redressed her baby, and cradled her against her chest.

“I do recommend you go visit a pediatrician for a total check-up, and get her vaccinated once we’re on earth, since I can’t provide those here.”

Daisy hummed as she cupped the back of her daughter’s head, holding her steady, “Yeah, was already planning on it.”

“Good,” Diaz said with a smile as she scribbled down some notes, and sat down on one of the chairs, Daisy followed suit and relaxed into one of the chairs as well, “So how’s mom doing, huh?”

Daisy was taken aback a little by being called ‘mom’, the title still felt very fresh to her, but she quickly recovered and cleared her throat. “Besides sore, bloated and tired?” she answered with a half-hearted smile, “It’s going well. Sousa’s been amazing, we found a rhythm that works for us so far. But you know, since I am the only one who can feed her, it’s a bit more on me right now.”

Diaz smiled sympathetically, “That’s understandable, I do hope you get enough sleep, though, not just for Charlie here, but your body needs to heal too.” 

Daisy rubbed her face with her free hand, “I know, I know, I try.”

Diaz caught a glimpse of Daisy’s bruised arm from underneath her rolled up sleeve and wondered “How’re the arms?”

Daisy blinked, and raised her arm as if she was inspecting it. The bruising, albeit faded a bit, was still there from when she had to cast her powers inwards as she gave birth. “It’s fine, actually doesn’t hurt too much. Maybe because I am kind of used to it? I take ibuprofen against the pain.” She pulled her sleeve down again, masking the bruises.

“Good, well, I am glad it didn’t come to the point that you had a massive break in your radius or ulna,” Diaz remarked.

Daisy sighed, “You and me both,” and gave her doctor a faint smile, “I can’t imagine not being able to pick her up!”

They both sat in a comfortable silence, an occasional soft grunt coming from Charlie who was laid on her mother’s chest, “So,” Daisy said as she cleared her throat, “What’s the first thing you’re going to do once we’re back on earth? Besides you know, contacting loved ones,”

Diaz squinted, obviously deep in thought, before letting out a deep breath, “Sushi, probably going to eat lots of sushi and have a few beers,” she said with a smile.

Daisy let out a moan, “Sushi! God, I miss sushi. Beers too.”

“Well you can join me, but as your doctor I do advice against drinking beer while breastfeeding,”

Daisy rolled her eyes and laughed, “I know, Alex.”

Diaz smiled, “Sorry,” and leaned back in her chair, “and you, what did you have planned?”

Daisy let out a hum, “Weirdly enough, I haven’t really thought about it. I just really want to see my family, but after that… well, Daniel said he wanted to marry me right away, but I don’t think he meant the second we get off the ship.”

“I don’t know, Daisy, the way he looks at you, I wouldn’t be surprised.”

Daisy couldn’t help but look away and smile, feeling a little shy. She let her fingers trail over her baby’s back, and asked “Will you come, to the wedding? I’d love for you to be there,” but then realized what she was asking of her friend, “I’m sorry, you’ll probably want to go do your own thing, we’ve spent enough time together as it is, you must be getting sick of us by now...”

Diaz smiled, and shook her head, “Are you kidding? Of course I want to be there, you’ve named your baby after me! How can I not be there?”

Daisy grinned, “Good, we have nothing planned yet, but we’ll see.”

“Just give me a date and time, and i’ll be there, promise,” Diaz answered.

Daisy nodded and let out a big yawn, hiding it with the back of her hand.

Diaz stood up, “But for now, you really need to go take a nap, alright? Doctor’s orders! I mean it, you need to take your rest when you can, otherwise you’ll be burned up by next week.”

Daisy groaned, but didn’t have the strength to put up a fight. She really thought she wouldn’t be as typically fatigued as any other new parent, as she had a lot of experience not getting enough sleep with her work as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, but having a newborn was a whole other kind of sleep deprived. “Alright, okay. I will, thanks, Diaz.”

“Of course,” she said with a smile and helped the new mom get up from her chair, and watched her leave through the doors of the medic bay as she shook her head, hoping she was going to listen to her advice.

* * *

Daisy lowered Charlie into her bassinet and smiled. The baby had already fallen asleep after her diaper change, and looked so peaceful as she slept, it was Daisy’s new favorite sight. She lovingly caressed the soft hairs on Charlie’s tiny head and sat down on the bed next to the laundry basket bassinet, stretched her limbs and shook her head. 

She decided she might actually follow Diaz’s advice and go for a nap, since her body was begging her for some sleep, and she didn’t have the fight in her anymore to refuse. She took off her boots and changed her leggings for her sleep shorts, keeping her borrowed button down shirt from Sousa to sleep in. She got into the bed, letting out a content sigh as she felt the cool sheets against her skin.

Just as she was about to drift away, there was a gentle knock on the bunk door, and Daniel poked his head through, checking if he hadn’t disrupted anything. “Hey,” he said and walked in. 

Daisy smiled, “Hey, what are you doing here?” she asked, sleepily.

Daniel shook his head as he closed the bunk door behind him, “Doctor ordered me to go take a nap,”

Daisy let out a huff, “She said the same to me,”

“Can’t refuse doctor’s orders,” he joked, and stripped himself of his pants and shirt and joined her in bed. Under different circumstances this scenario would’ve played out differently, as she admired his strong arms and broad shoulders, but now she just wanted to use those shoulder to fall asleep on. Daniel let out a sigh, his eyes immediately falling shut as he felt Daisy curl against him and rest her head on his chest. He instinctively put his arm around her and murmured a “s _leep tight_ ,” but she had already nodded off. He shot a quick glance at his daughter, before succumbing to sleep himself.

* * *

“Hey, what are you doing up?” Daniel croaked as he rubbed his face, his eyes still bleary from sleep.

Daisy stopped her soft humming, and looked from the baby in her arms to Daniel and smiled, “Someone was hungry,”

Daniel propped himself up and looked at Daisy, as she was feeding their daughter, “Why didn’t you wake me?”

Daisy smiled, “You looked so cute, drooling on your pillow,”

Daniel wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, “I wasn’t drooling,”

Daisy eyed the wet spot on his pillowcase. “Sure.”

“You should’ve woken me up,” Daniel whispered, “I want you to know that I meant it, when I said we are in this together,”

Daisy smiled at him softly, “It’s okay, I got a good full hour nap, just figured at least one of us could get a little more sleep, and since I am the only one who can provide her with food…”

Daniel nodded, and sat a little closer, resting his head against her shoulder, watching his daughter drink. He really did feel bad that most of the care was on Daisy now; he wished he could take some of the load off for her. But she had repeatedly told him it was okay, they had no choice anyway. Not while they were still in space.

“Your beard tickles,” Daisy said with a grin, as Daniel cheek was brushing against her bare shoulder.

“You said you liked my beard,” Daniel teased, and purposely rubbed the side of his face against her shoulder.

“Stop it!” Daisy exclaimed with a snicker, only a little too loud, causing Charlie to let go of her latch and start crying. “Now look what daddy did,” Daisy muttered softly, as she redirected Charlie to her source of food. Daniel looked at her with puppy dog eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he said remorsefully, with a twinkle in his eyes.

Daisy just slowly shook her head, not looking up from her daughter. “Your dad is a dork,” she commented and eyed him, “Maybe if he brought me a glass of water, he could be forgiven, what do you think, Charlie?”

Daniel snickered, “Alright, I get the hint, I get the hint,” and kissed her shoulder and hauled himself out of bed, stretching his arms in the air as he let out a big yawn. 

“Can you get me that big glass from the kitchen?” 

Daniel turned around and nodded, “You mean the flower vase? Of course,” as he lazily pulled his pants back on and the shirt he had been wearing over his head, “Anything else?”

“Can you check for an update for how much longer before we’re on Augnum?”

“I’ll check with Kora,” and sat on the bed as he put his shoes on.

“ _Thank you!_ ” she singsonged and watched him leave their bunk.

* * *

Daniel frowned, curious as he saw most of the team sitting at the controls, talking in a hushed tone with each other. As he got closer enough he overheard what they were discussing, and he couldn’t help but smirk. “Don’t worry, we’re already awake,” he commented. The team jumped as Daniel boomed behind them, and they looked up as if they had been kids who were caught with their hands in a cookie jar. Kora was the first one that straightened her back and folded her arms in front of her chest, “We were just not sure if we’d be quaked if we had to wake you guys up,” and raised her eyebrow.

Daniel shook his head and smiled, “Don’t worry, it’s always okay if it’s important. But why did you feel the need to wake us up in the first place?”

Torres smiled, and pointed at the moon called Augnum that was now in full view, which Daniel hadn’t even noticed when focusing on the whispering team.

“We’ve arrived! that’s Augnum, we’re gonna land in about an hour,” she said with a smirk, “So, be ready.”

* * *

Daniel barged back into the bunk, and smiled, “We’re almost there!” 

Daisy blinked at her fiancé standing before her with a grin and the big glass of water in his hand. She let out a relieved breath and smiled back, “Finally.”

Daniel nodded and walked over to the bed, where he traded the satisfied baby for the glass of water. Daisy gratefully gulped down the water while Daniel draped a small towel over his shoulder and helped Charlie burp by gently tapping on the baby’s back. 

“ETA?” Daisy wondered as she put the glass of water on the bedside table next to her and got out of bed.

Daniel slowly rocked side to side, still waiting for his daughter to burp, “About an hour,”

“Good,” she breathed out, “Enough time to get ready.”

“Get ready?” Daniel repeated as he transferred Charlie from his shoulder to his arm after she had burped, and threw the towel with the other laundry.

“Well yeah, I obviously still don’t fit in my suit, but I can’t go out in this,” as she gestured at the unbuttoned shirt and wrinkly pajama shorts she was wearing. 

“I thought we were going to send Masters, Torres and Kora first again, to meet up with them, like we did on Moxan.”

Daisy let out a sigh and scratched her eyebrow, walking over to the heaps of clothes that had been disposed on the chair in the corner, hoping to find something suitable. “Remember the reaction we got on Moxan? It’s considered rude for the captain of the ship not to introduce themselves in this part of the universe, and I really don’t want to jeopardize any chance of us returning to earth.”

“We’d have to take Charlie too,” Daniel said, still a little wary as he looked at the newborn in his arms. 

Daisy nodded as she pulled a shirt with thumbholes from the clothing pile, approving it, and threw it on the bed. “I know, I don’t like it either,” she said as she looked up at Daniel with a worried expression on his face, “But we know this planet is friendly, king Palunk has already messaged the people of Augnum that we’re coming, and i’ll let Torres do an extra check if the atmosphere is safe.” She pulled thick black leggings from the pile to go with the heather grey shirt she had already picked and threw it on the bed as well.

Daniel let out a soft hum, and gently lowered the baby in the basinet, who let out a grunt in dismay of not being held anymore, but with a warm full belly, she quickly settled. 

He didn’t move much after that, clearly deeply in thought. Daisy pulled her boots from underneath the bed. “Hey,” she said as she walked up to him and placed her hand on his chest, “It’s going to be fine. I just don’t know how long it’s going to take and I don’t want Charlotte to go hungry. Plus it will be nice to be out of the Zephyr for a while, won’t it?”

Daniel slowly nodded and mustered up a smile, reaching for her hand on his chest and tangling his fingers with hers, “It will,” his thumb brushing along her engagement ring.

Daisy smiled and gave him a nod, “Alright, let’s get ready,” she said and let go of his hand, and sat on the bed. Daniel sat next to her and changed into a fresh shirt too. “Will you need your gauntlets for this?” he wondered, when he noticed her bruised arms as she changed her shirt.

Daisy hummed, “Maybe,” and looked around the bunk, “Where did I even leave them?”

Daniel let out a chuckle, “Pretty sure they’re at the medic bay still,”

Daisy groaned, “Of course,” suddenly remembering that she had thrown her gauntlets off just after Charlie was born and neither of them thought to pick them up again.

“I’ll go get them,” Sousa said, while putting on his shoes.

* * *

The team almost gasped in unison as the entrance to Z3 was lowered and they were met with a completely different climate than they had on Moxan. Augnum was lush, curly plants and trees surrounding them with purple roots and branches, nothing like the heavy snow of Moxan, and their towering architecture. 

They heard the hustle and bustle of what they presumed was a city or village not too far away. The team all looked to Daisy for her command, and she took a deep breath, placing a hand on the baby strapped to her chest, and gave a nod, “Alright, Masters, why don’t you go ahead and we’ll follow you. Diaz, Abdul since you’re staying behind in Z3 make sure to keep it cloaked, and if _anything_ feels off don’t hesitate to contact us, okay?” Abdul nodded, “I will,” more than happy that he got to stay behind, the engineer not much an adventurer like the rest. Masters silently checked his weapons, and strutted forward, not looking back to check if the rest indeed followed. 

As the team managed to keep up with Masters’ firm tred, they looked around with wide eyes, taking in their new environment. It was beautiful and more than a welcome change from the insides of their ship. The air was breathable, and the temperature was like a nice spring day. Torres gasped, giddy from all the unknown flora and fauna around them, and immediately put on gloves to take samples and collect seeds. Space was beautiful, but the vastness could be cold and the stillness could be lonely, and the only plants they has seen in almost a year were the spinach leafs they grew in the kitchen’s little green house.

Tenderly, she touched a dewy petal of an orange flower, which in response curled away, causing Torres to sigh in delight.

After a short walk, they arrived at some sort of marketplace, as they predicted when they heard the distant sounds. There were lots of different creatures, all from different areas and planets by the look of it. Some of them, Daisy recognized from the many planets she had visited from the year she spent with Jemma in search for Fitz. Most of the creatures, however, were small, a little round and friendly looking. Their facial features were broad but close together, and their exceptionally small ears stuck out from almost white blonde hair.

With their comfy gait and short legs, they were completely different from the tall people of Moxan with their slender figures and an extra pair of limbs. 

As they joined the market, nobody seemed to really notice them, most of the crowd were looking humanoid anyway, so they blended in quite well. Charlie was a little fussy from being taken from her familiar environment but with a hand on the back of her head she relaxed into her mother’s touch, lulled to sleep by the movements as they walked. 

Torres was taking earth samples and documenting practically everything she saw in a frenzy, a wide smile on her face as every new thing seemed to enthuse her even more. Daisy couldn’t help but grin at the look on Kora’s face as she watched Torres run around; it was so full of affection that Daisy instantly knew her sister had it bad for Torres. 

She looked up to Daniel who had placed a hand on her lower back and smiled at her.“This is pretty amazing,” he commented as he watched different kind of aliens interact and trade their ware. 

Daisy hummed, smiling back, “It is, isn’t it?” 

Masters redheaded posture turned around abruptly, with his eyes on the tablet and pointed at a building sat on a hill that was now in their sights. “According to Palunk that’s where we need to be,” he said curtly, always his gruff self. Daisy nodded and looked to the rest of her team, and they continued walking. 

After a good twenty minutes Daisy started to feel uncomfortable and the longer they walked the more sore she got, after all, it had only been a week since she had given birth and even though the painkillers helped for the most part, and she was healing nicely, she had overestimated how much her body was able to take. Daniel had token notice. “Do you want to sit down?” he asked, making sure to keep his voice low. 

Daisy shook her head, “No, let’s just continue,” 

“Want me to take Charlie for a while, relieve some of the -“

“Daniel, I said I was _fine!_ ”, she snapped.

Daniel blinked, and gave her a nod in return as they kept on walking.

Daisy breathed out, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap, I just really want to reach the hill.”

“I know, I just don’t want you to overexert yourself,”

Daisy silently reached for his hand and gave it a small squeeze, the gauntlet around her hand feeling a little clunky as she did. “Do you see the way Kora looks at Torres?” Daisy whispered, changing the subject, as the pair in front of them were now walking side by side, talking quietly and leaning in close to each other.

Even though he was a man from the ‘50s, he could tell that the women in front of them were clearly in love. He smiled, “Do you think they’ll go steady?”

Daisy chuckled, deciding not to comment on his use of ‘going steady’ and shrugged, “Who knows?”

She had told Daniel about what had changed since the ‘50s and he all seemed to take it with great stride. He was pleased how everything had progressed even though she had told him they weren’t there yet, and there were still a lot of issues with racism, sexism and discrimination, but it was already way better than what he had experienced in his timeline. 

After walking for a good fifteen minutes more, Charlie began to really fuss and a simple pinky to suckle on and some hushing didn’t do the trick anymore, and since her diaper was dry, Daisy knew what her daughter demanded. She announced that she would have to take a break for at least half an hour before they could continue. Masters was clearly suppressing a sigh but gave a nod, and halted his strut. Daisy instructed her team to go find something that was edible since they were still on the market and it was getting quite late, and gather a little more intel about who exactly was leading this planet. 

She watched them disappear in the crowd as she sat down at a quiet corner on a bench that was circled around one of the larger purple trees on the edge of the market. With a relieved groan she sat down and stretched her legs. She was really getting sore and even though she had been too stubborn to stop, she was glad her baby had forced her to take a break anyway. 

Daniel silently sat next to her and was clearly happy he could rest his tired feet too. Charlie, however, had zero patience and was already starting to root around, so Daisy loosened the fabric from around her body and released her daughter from the tight wrap. She hauled the fabric over he shoulder and pulled her shirt up, giving the baby access to her breast so she could finally have her feed. She decided to shield her daughter by draping the fabric over her as she had no idea what the customs were of this planet. After all, the people of Moxan were clearly taken aback by humans ‘incubating their offspring within their body’ as the king had so ‘nicely’ expressed. But she didn’t really care as her baby was hungry, and that was the most important thing to her. Daisy peeked beneath the fabric at her daughter, checking if everything was going well before relaxing against the tree, closing her eyes a bit. She knew Daniel next to her was holding watch anyway, and she felt exhausted from the walk. 

After a while she felt the bench next to her dip a little and she slowly opened one eye to see who had sat next to her, and saw a creature with soft features, green skin and dark eyes, dressed in cloaks loosely draped around her dangly body. 

Daisy could feel Daniel shift next to her, always on the lookout, but Daisy simply put her hand on his knee, as she didn’t feel threatened in the least by the alien sitting next to her. 

The creature, however, seemed to be very interested in what was underneath the cloak Daisy had draped over her shoulder, but didn’t let out a sound. With a gentle hand gesture, they seemed to ask if they could take a look. Daisy felt a bit uncomfortable, but she also weirdly sensed that the alien wasn’t a threat, so she slowly lifted the fabric and gave the alien a peek at her daughter who was still eagerly enjoying her lunch. The alien smiled, or what Daisy presumed was a smile, and started to pull at their own cloaks with long green fingers, moving some of the fabric to the side, to reveal a small green baby creature, not much bigger than Charlie.

The alien baby was drinking too, and Daisy gasped in complete awe at how cute it was with its black hair and dark eyes, and round little face. Something like a purr came from the mother alien and Daisy gave a nod, like some sort of silent communication between them. Maybe it was because they were both new mothers, just from a different part of the universe. The alien mother said a silent goodbye and Daisy turned to Daniel who had an astonished look on his face. He blinked and gave Daisy a lopsided smile, “Guess i’ve seen everything now,” he commented. Daisy let out a chuckle and rested her head against his shoulder, the fatigue now really getting to her. 

* * *

It didn’t take long after Charlie was done eating, that the team returned with food and intel. Daniel took over from Daisy and was now the one carrying their daughter, taking a bit of the load off. The market was also dying down, people seemed to start to leave to wherever they came from and according to Masters, who had asked around a bit, it wouldn’t take long before they’d reached the hill king Palunk had told them about.

As they finally reached the hill it was almost comical how small the building on top of it looked, them clearly being designed for the people of Augnum, as they weren’t large creatures by any means; the tallest one seemed to barely reach Daisy’s shoulder. The guards, however, were armed to the brim, so they didn’t want to underestimate the potential threat that was Augnum just because the people on it were small. 

As they walked up the hill and reached the guards, surprisingly, the guards seemed to instantly know who they were, and let them through without much fuss. Other guards took over and guided them towards an open area. They had to duck to get through the door opening, one by one quickly filling up the space where they were now all staring at five glowing circles that were elevated off the ground. They looked at each other, but none of them knew what the purpose was of these circles. 

Daisy eventually called out, and the middle circle started buzzing. The guards didn’t look up or seemed surprised so Daisy assumed it was nothing dangerous. With a soft glow a creature appeared, instantly recognizable as a being from Augnum too, as he looked similar to the guards and the people from the market just draped in gold cloaks and a purple like banner around his neck. The creature smiled, as he held his arms up as if he wanted to hug them, but Daisy suspected it was more a welcoming gesture. 

“Quake! We’ve been expecting you!”, he boomed, practically ignoring the rest of the team that stood behind her. He surprisingly had a low voice, not pitchy like she had suspected. 

Daisy gave a nod and a small bow, not really knowing the customs but a bow was mostly a safe bet. The rest of the team copied Daisy, and she vaguely heard a squawk of dismay coming from her daughter, but she luckily staid silent, still content by being carried by her father. 

“Thank you for allowing us entry to your castle. We have accidentally crossed the force field and king Palunk informed us that you are the guardians of the cloak that separates us from our home planet, and we’d like to return home.”

“Us Augnums are indeed the guardians of the cloak,” he said with pride in his voice, “But crossing it can’t be done without the approval of the council.”

Daisy frowned, “Council?”

“Yes,” he said and with a hand gesture the glowing circles all started to buzz and multiple holograms of creatures appeared, only one of them they recognized as king Palunk from Moxan. The rest were all distinctively different from each other. 

Daisy immediately turned to Palunk, “You didn’t tell me there was a _council_ ,” she almost hissed, trying to stay respectful but feeling pissed off and unprepared by the king’s omission. Daniel put a hand on her lower back, trying to ground her. Daisy took a deep breath, and managed to calm herself. 

King Palunk seemed to be surprised by her reaction, “Of course there is a council! We,the five planets behind the cloak, are a democracy.”

The leader of Augnum cleared his throat, “You may plead your case, and each one of us will vote if you’ll be granted access,” he simply stated.

Daisy looked at her team who were practically stood gaping at what was happening. Daisy then looked to Daniel who had a very worried expression on his face but didn’t know what to say either. The aliens on each of their respective circle started talking in languages she didn’t understand, but it gave her a little time to think. All that popped in her mind was that she just wanted to go _home_ , they were all exhausted and homesick. She wanted to hug her family back on earth, get married to Sousa, to buy a house and raise their little family. It was all so simple and domestic, and there was nothing that was going to stop her from reaching her goal. And so she gave Daniel a determined nod and turned around back to the council that had stopped talking.

“The simple truth is,” she said straightening her back, “We are sick of space travel, we do not belong here, and we want to go home.” 

The leader of Augnum let out what sounded like a chuckle and he clapped his hands together and slowly shook his head, “I appreciate straightforward plea, it’s a little unoriginal, but I enjoyed it. You have a yes from me.”

Daisy looked to the other alien leaders that seemed to be a little more apprehensive, so she turned to Palunk first who gave her a small bow, letting out a sigh and giving a ‘yes’ as well. 

Daisy couldn’t believe this was working as she looked over her shoulder and shared a look with Daniel who looked at her in awe. She turned back to the council where another alien with its see through body and multiple eyes was shaking his head and declared a ‘no’ without much reason, the teal alien next to it followed up with a ‘no’ as well and spoke, “We are here to protect the cloak, our universe, if we just simply let people go through and back why did we even create a forcefield? It’s a no.”

The fifth one, a lizard looking creature with sharp fangs and even sharper claws folded his arms, seemingly deep in thought. Daisy regretted her simple plea now, if this one said ‘no’ too they were majorly screwed. She started shaking and walked closer to Daniel and her team, suspecting the worst, until the creature shrugged, looked bored, and sighed. “Just go. Terrans only bring trouble anyway. Just stay away from here. You will not be welcomed back,” he said with an insulting nonchalance, and was the first one to disappear from the council, leaving only four. 

Daisy couldn’t believe it, as she looked to the leader of Augnum for the relieving words. He clapped once again in his hands and grinned, “Congratulations, you have been granted the coordinates to leave. If you do not leave in a month, the council will be forced to do another hearing,”

Daisy shook her head, “That won’t be necessary,” trying to blink away the tears in her eyes - she couldn’t believe that they were finally going back home. She turned around to her team who started cheering. Even Masters started to celebrate, hiding his face behind his hands trying to hide the tears in his eyes. 

Sousa surged forward and immediately captured Daisy in his arms, still careful to not squish Charlie between them and with a shaky hand he brushed the hair from Daisy’s face. “We’re going home,” he said. 

Daisy let out a shuttering breath and gave him a nod, “We’re going home,” she repeated. She bent over Charlie’s sleeping face, safely strapped to Daniel’s chest and whispered “Did you hear that? Your little toes will touch the grass!”

Daniel leaned forward and kissed her, which Daisy gladly reciprocated, leaning their foreheads together for a second after they parted. Kora got too impatient and went in to hug her sister while the alien council all had disappeared without much to say. All but one, for there was still the leader of Augnum, who looked pleased and handed Daisy a set of numbers on something that looked like a scroll, that Kora and Torres seemed to gasp at, indeed recognizing it as coordinates. Daisy thanked the leader, and with a bow he disappeared, leaving the team with the guards who rapidly urged them to leave. 

“Alright,” Daisy exclaimed, “I don’t know about you guys, but I am going home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Earth! You guys, earth! Next chapter we'll see them return and meet up with their family! Hope you liked it and comments are very much appreciated <3


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YES, they are going back to earth in this chapter, be prepared for some cute reunions! Enjoy! And thanks again to my amazing beta Wlammy <3
> 
> You can follow me if you want on tumblr.com/marvelsquake

“Who is ready for her first real bath?” Daniel singsonged, while holding up his tiny daughter.

Daisy groaned, “Not me,” as she filled the sink of their small bathroom with warm water, “she’s already so tiny and wiggly, why add water to the equation?” and stopped the faucet after the sink was filled with three inches of water. 

Daniel slowly shook his head as he undressed the baby. “Now that the umbilical cord has fallen off, why not try and give her a real bath? She’ll be so nice and ready for earth tomorrow,” he said chipper, as he handed Daisy the old diaper, that she promptly dumped with the other laundry. 

Daisy sighed and eyed the tablet next to them that had ‘baby’s first bath tips’ screenshots displayed on it; it all looked very daunting to her so she was glad Daniel offered to hold the baby. “Alright, let’s do this.” 

Daniel nodded and cooed at his daughter as he slowly lowered her into the water, making sure to keep a good hold on her as he did. Charlie’s eyes immediately widened as she felt the water touch her skin for the first time and promptly let out a cry in dismay. Daniel and Daisy gently hushed her by speaking soft and encouraging words, but Charlie was having none of it and cried even louder. Daniel seemed a bit unsure now too, but when Daisy cupped a handful of water in her hand and gently poured it over the upset baby’s belly, it seemed to help a little. She repeated it a few times and Charlie finally seemed to settle, now enjoying the feel of the warm water. 

Both parents let out a sigh of relief and smiled at each other, “Well, we survived step one,” Daisy joked as she eyed the tablet again, and continued to pour water and carefully wash Charlie with a soft cloth, as Daniel tried his best to hold onto the slippery infant. Daisy chuckled at how her daughter had now adjusted to the water, sometimes kicking out a leg or an arm. 

“I think she’s enjoying it,” Daniel said, still with the upbeat voice he used when he spoke to Charlie, even though he was talking to Daisy. 

Daisy smiled, “I think so too,” and started to count the tiny toes out loud, cupping the little foot in her hands and reveling in how impossibly tiny they were. 

After they were positive that the baby was clean, and the water started to cool down a bit, Daniel carefully lifted Charlie from the water and immediately wrapped her in a clean and warm towel. Again, Charlie let out a cry, this time because she _wasn’t_ in the water anymore, but as she was carefully dapped dry and lathered up with baby lotion she was content again. The baby looked up at her mother for a moment and slowly got more relaxed and sleepy as time went on. Daisy chuckled as she closed the cap of the baby lotion, “How lucky are we that Diaz uses this stuff as make-up remover!”

Daniel hummed and moved Charlie, still wrapped in a towel, to the makeshift changing table and put her in a fresh diaper and outfit. He then lifted her close to his face again, smiling at the the baby in his hands and taking in her scent. “Oh baby, you smell so nice,” he whispered in her little ear.

Daisy leaned against the doorway between the bathroom and the bedroom and folded her arms, “I remember when you used to say that to me,” she remarked and grinned.

Daniel chuckled and walked over to the bassinet and carefully placed the contently sleeping baby on her back, and gently tucked her in. Daisy joined them and Daniel put his arm around her as they watched their baby. Softly, he kissed Daisy on the side of her head and mumbled into her hair, “Oh baby, you smell so nice.”

Daisy gave him a playful push, and chuckled “Wow, how spontaneous.”

She sat down on the bed, and changed her shirt, which was soaked and soapy.

“Can you believe we’ll be on earth by this time tomorrow?” Daniel said as he joined her on the bed and changed his wet shirt for the one that he usually slept in, which was a standard issue grey S.H.I.E.L.D. shirt. 

Daisy let out a deep breath, suddenly feeling a bit nervous about it, “Well, if everything goes according to plan.”

Daniel cocked his eyebrow, “You think it won’t?”

Daisy smiled faintly and shook her head. “I mean if the calculations Torres did are correct, and we do reach the exit point of the cloak by tomorrow and find the jump point right away. I just try to not get my hopes up too much,” Daisy said with a shrug as she kicked her shoes off. 

Daniel watched Daisy as she got slowly ready for bed. He felt there was more to it, but decided to not pressure her and just get ready for bed like she was.

Daisy squinted at the little clock on her nightstand, she was really tired like never before, but she also knew her daughter would demanding to be fed in another hour or so. 

“How’s the pain?” Daniel asked, glancing at the strip of bright pink ibuprofen by her bedside.

“Well,” Daisy said, “Maybe walking for more than an hour after only a week after giving birth wasn’t the greatest idea... but I feel fine.”

“You know you don’t have to pretend with me right?”

Daisy gave him a lopsided smile. “Okay, it hurts like a bitch,” she admitted with a chuckle, “but the painkillers help, so it’s mostly okay. Just a new mom thing I guess, but then…” as she gestured around them, “In space.”

“Not for long,” Daniel said with a grin.

“Yeah,” Daisy said and breathed out, “will you read for us again, one last time in space?”

Daniel smiled, “Of course,” and got into bed, took the book they’d been reading from the nightstand and pulled the covers over his lap. Daisy walked up to the bassinet to check on Charlie, who, to her surprise, was wide awake and gazing at the dangling paper stars Kora taped to the ceiling. Daisy sighed and felt her heart overflowing when the baby’s shiny brown eyes noticed her. She picked Charlie up and held her against her chest, reveling in the freshly bathed baby scent as well, and placing soft kisses atop the baby’s head. 

Daniel reached out his hands, and Daisy handed Charlie over to her dad, who draped the sleepy baby over his chest. Daisy then changed into her sleepwear and joined the father-daughter duo in their bed, curling into his side as he started reading from the book. Charlie instantly relaxed as she felt the familiar rumble of his voice.

“You know,” Daniel said mid-sentence, and put the book aside, “even though I am very glad we’re earth bound, I think I am going to kind of miss… this.”

Daisy looked up, lifting her head from his chest and smiled, “You know, we can still do ‘this’ once we’re home.”

Daniel chuckled, and placed his hand on the back of his daughter that was currently snoozing on his chest, “I know... it’s just our world is so small right now, it’s just us three, this room, and the silence of space... It’s nice.”

Daisy rested her head back on his chest again and hummed, curling a little more into his side as she did, and agreed “I know what you mean. We’re like our own tiny universe right now, just the three of us...” 

She looked up to the ceiling, picturing life on earth, and continued “But it’s going to be so good... we’ll get our own little place and give Charlie a proper nursery, go for walks, sniff flowers, visit the beach, eat croissants, hug our friends....” She felt giddy just imagining it.

Daniel nodded, and fantasized “... we could go dancing, cook a lamb shank, play records,...”

Daisy’s gaze left the ceiling and rested on Daniel’s hand caressing Charlie’s small back, and added “Get married…” 

Daniel blinked and smiled. “Yes, of course.”

Daisy propped herself up, making sure not to wake their sleeping baby, and joked “You’re not getting cold feet, are you?”

Daniel laughed and shook his head, “We haven’t really spoken about the actual wedding part of it, that’s all. All I know is that I made you a promise, and I intend to keep that promise.”

Content by his answer, Daisy grinned and said “Well, the same goes for me, when I said yes, I meant it.”

“So we’ll have a wedding when we’re back on earth,” Daniel said cheerfully, resting his hand behind his head.

“Yeah, but Daniel, we can’t get married the second we get off this ship,” Daisy said with a chuckle, slightly alarmed by Sousa’s choice of words, “I want to settle at home a little more, wait until Charlie is a little older, maybe, and find a dress that might actually fit…”

Daniel looked at her and gave her a smile, “You know I love you no matter what you look like, right?”

Daisy smiled softly, feeling a warmth blooming in her chest, because she knew he meant every word of it. “I know, I know you do. I just want to let my body heal a little more, and I’ll just feel more confident.”

“Alright, let’s just get home and see how we go from there,”

Daisy nodded and let herself cuddle back into his side, “Alright,” and let out a deep sigh, “now keep reading because I want to know how the chapter ends,”

Daniel let out a chuckle and reached for the book, “Yes, ma’am.”

* * *

With a shock, Daisy and Daniel awoke, when suddenly the phone that was charging on Daisy’s bedside table started buzzing incessantly, lighting up the whole bunk with its screen.

Daisy grabbed the phone from the nightstand, it continued buzzing in her hands, as the number of messages on the screen kept growing. She gasped as her eyes adjusted to the light, and she realized their ship must’ve passed through the cloak. “Daniel, look!” she exclaimed, holding the bright screen in front of his face, ignoring his protest to the sharp light. Most of the messages were from Jemma and others from her team, a ton of emails and missed calls had accumulated over the past months, and the phone continued to buzz and started to overheat.

She rushed out of bed with a big smile on her face and threw on some clothes. “I’m going to the controls, see where we’re at!” she exclaimed in an excited whisper and hurried out before Daniel could even reply. He chuckled, she reminded him of a kid on Christmas morning, and slowly turned on the nightlight. He put on his slippers and checked on his daughter, who was normally such a light sleeper and would wake up by even a gentle kiss to her cheek, but somehow managed to sleep straight through all of this. He knew it wasn’t recommended to pick up a sleeping infant, but he needed to see what was happening, so he carefully lifted her out of the bassinet and against his warm chest. Without much fuss, she stayed asleep and Daniel let out a breath of relief while he headed to the controls with Charlie in his arms.

He was quickly met with the crew in pajamas with sleepy faces and messy hair, holding their buzzing phones. Torres, who had the task to guide the Zephyr through the cloaking, was practically bouncing in her seat behind the controls. Daisy let out a shuttering breath, there was still not much to see, their earth still too far away to spot, but it was such a relief to be back on their side of the galaxy. 

Daisy picked the headset from the controls and with a shaky hand adjusted the microphone and took a deep breath, almost too excited to finally be able to contact S.H.I.E.L.D. “Lighthouse control, this is Agent Johnson of Zephyr-3, is anyone there? Over,” she spoke, her voice as steady as possible.

She wasmet only with pops, cracks and static noises. Everybody looked at her with hopeful eyes and nervous smiles, so she repeated, “Lighthouse control, this is agent Johnson of Zephyr-3, is anyone there? Over.” The air in the cockpit was thick with anticipation, and she repeated the message.

Finally, after two more tries, a distant voice answered, “Lighthouse control, could you confirm this is Zephyr-3 I am speaking to?”

Daisy’s smile broadened, “Affirmative, this is Agent Johnson, Zephyr-3, -“

“ _Tremors_ , is that you?” a familiar voice suddenly sounded, replacing the other voice she had been communicating with.

Tears welled up in her eyes, after finally hearing Mack’s voice again, “Sure am!”, she replied, clutching the control board as if to pull him closer. The team in the control room around her sighed and cheered in relief. 

“Where in the hell have you been?” Mack asked, booming through the speakers.

Daniel, gently bouncing a sleeping Charlie on his arm, laid a hand on Daisy’s back, as she bent down over the microphone. “We accidentally went through a force field, something like a cloak, unable to come back,” Daisy explained.

She could hear Mack let out a relieved sigh, “We’ve been so worried,” he said, “how’s everyone? The crew?”

“They’re all fine,” Daisy didn’t really know if she should mention the new one week old Astro Ambassador, as she didn’t know if Jemma told the rest of them that she was pregnant, so she asked “How’s everyone there? Earth?”

“We’re all good,” Mack’s voice crackled, “I’m going to contact everyone to let them know you’re back, when are you landing?” 

Daisy shot a glance at Torres who gave her a nod, “If we can find a jump point we can be there in a few hours, if not, a day or two more.” 

“Copy that” she heard him response but the commutation was failing on them, and the static noise was taking over yet again. “ _Daisy_?” Mack called out.

“I’m here, the -“ but it was sudden radio silence again. “Damnit,” she cursed. She tried calling on her phone as others were trying, but none of it seemed to work. She turned to the crew who were staring at their phones in disappointment, and said “The transmission must’ve failed, but it’s okay, we’re almost home. Torres, how long until the jumping point Augnum told us about?” 

Torres straightened her back, looked at the coordinates and announced, “An hour or so!”. Her dimples betrayed her glee, no matter how professional she sounded, which made Daisy smile. “Alright you guys, go pack your bags, we’re almost there!”

* * *

Daisy felt comfort in holding her baby close as they were slowly approaching earth. She held Charlie against her chest, feeling the soft puffs of air coming from her daughter against her skin as she breathed. 

Luckily, Torres managed to quite easily find the jump point, and for the first time in months they could see the blue of the planet they called home nearing. Everybody was at the controls, eyes wide and tears forming as they took in the stunning view of earth. Daniel wrapped his arm around Daisy, expressing his joy by continuously squeezing her closer. “Look Charlie, that’s your home,” Daisy said with a tremble in her voice.

Torres was still piloting, while Kora had taken a seat in the co-pilot chair. The formal request for permission to land at the lighthouse, was of course granted by S.H.I.E.L.D..

Kora looked at Torres, and stuck out her hand with a shy smile. Torres looked up from her view, tilted her head and gave the woman next to her a soft smile before briefly taking her hand in hers, giving it a small squeeze. She regretfully had to let it go to focus back on flying, but she still felt the gentle squeeze tingling in her hand. 

It didn’t take long after that before Torres gleefully announced, “Alright you guys, strap in, we’re going to land in 20 minutes!” 

Everybody scurried away and buckled themselves into their seats. Daisy had Charlie strapped firmly to her chest, her little legs and head safely covered by the wrap, and sat down, holding the baby with both her hands. Charlie started to whimper from her cocoon as Z3 broke through the atmosphere around earth, shaking violently as it did. Luckily, it didn’t take long before the shaking stopped as they had penetrated the last of the layers and it became smooth sailing from there on. 

Everybody unstrapped themselves again and walked back to the controls and looked outside where the Lighthouse came in full view. Torres skillfully flew the plane down as the sea made way for Z3. Daisy let out a relieved breath as she felt the wheels touch the ground for the first time in over a year, the violent screeching sounding like music to her ears. 

Daisy pulled the wrap back down to reveal a little face, red from crying, and pressed a kiss on top of it, whispering a soft apology to her daughter. She unwrapped Charlie and handed her over to Daniel, who had his arms already stretched out for the upset baby. “That wasn’t so bad, now, was it?” Daniel said, lovingly tucking in the open end of Charlie’s shirtdress to make sure her feet wouldn’t get cold.

Daisy swallowed as she pressed the button for the hangar door which slowly descended. Immediately, tears formed in her eyes as she saw Mack with the biggest smile on his face greet her. He shook his head as she hurried towards him and hugged the person she considered her brother. Mack hugged her back, lifting her in the air, her feet hovering above the ground, before putting her back onto her feet. 

“I am so glad you’re back!”, he exclaimed.

“So glad to be back,” she breathed out.

Daisy looked over her shoulder, where she saw the rest of the team take out their phones and start calling the people closest to them, with big happy smiles and shiny eyes of pure happiness. Daisy gestured for Daniel to come closer, the baby in his arms swaddled into her favorite blanket. “There’s someone I want you to meet,” she almost whispered. 

Mack blinked, his jaw dropping as Daniel walked up to him. He could hear the distinctive squawk of a baby coming from the bundle in Daniel’s arms. “Mack... meet our daughter, Charlotte. Charlie, this is Mack.”

“ _Tremors_ ,” Mack breathed out in awe, deeply moved when he caught a first glimpse of the baby in Daniel’s arms. Daniel had a big smile on his face, his chest puffing out in pride as he showed her. “Jemma told me that you were - , but after a few weeks of radio silence, we were just… so scared that.…” 

“We’re okay,” Daisy muttered, equally moved, “can’t get rid of me that easy.”.

Mack put his hand on Daniel’s shoulder, wordlessly saying ‘welcome back’ and ‘congratulations’ by doing so, as he watched the baby with fascination. “She’s _beautiful_ , you guys.” he smiled, still a bit undone by such a wonderful surprise and sense of relief.

Daisy choked back tears when she saw the tall broad shouldered man bent over her little girl, and wondered, “Where’s Yo-Yo, the others?”

“I’m here,” the familiar raspy voice of Elena answered, but before Daisy had even the chance to react there was a flash and she suddenly felt arms around her, squeezing her tight. Daisy hugged back and laughed. Elena let go and sighed deeply. “I can’t believe you’re back,” she said.

Daisy’s eyes widened “I can’t believe you are...!” she exclaimed, as she took in the new physique of her friend who seemed to be at least 25-weeks along. 

Elena smiled, and ran her hand along the curve of her small but distinct belly, “... _pregnant_? Well, things change when you disappear for months on end,” she said with a smirk and focused on the baby in Daniel’s arms. “Oh Daisy! Ella es _hermosa_ ,” she whispered at the sleepy baby, “I always knew you’d be back, just not that it would take this long.”

Daisy sighed, “We didn’t expect that either.”

“Come on, let’s go to somewhere more private,” Mack offered as he saw several agents doing their best not to stare at the agents who finally had returned.

Daisy looked at her crew, who she spent months in space with. They were all still on their phones, except for Kora, who was stood next to Torres as they were Facetiming what she presumed was Torres’ family. Mack gestured everyone to follow, which they did, still talking on their phones. 

As they reached the cleared common room, Daisy suddenly noticed everyone went inside except for Masters, who stood by the door and gave her a nod, a duffel bag over his shoulder. Daisy instantly knew that this man wanted to go home, and she walked up to the redheaded agent. “You know, there is still a bunk for you to stay overnight,” she said with a smile.

Masters shook his head, a rare smile briefly flashed on his face. “I want to thank you for this opportunity, but the only reason I went along with the mission is because I had to support my daughter, and I really want to see her now.”

Daisy hid her surprise and nodded, Masters had never mentioned his daughter before but his gruffness and the intense longing to go home now suddenly made way more sense. “Thank you Masters, for everything.”

Masters gave a simple nod in return. “Good luck with the baby, there’s no love like it,” he replied, and turned around, Daisy watched him disappear around the corner. 

She crossed her arms, shaking her head and walked back into the common room, where the remaining crew was sitting on the couches with Mack and Elena were still cooing at her daughter. She smiled and walked up to them. Daniel raised an eyebrow at her, “Masters went home to his daughter,” she simply stated.

Daniel had no idea either that the man had a kid, but gave a nod in response; a lot made sense now. Mack was holding Charlie, the infant already looked small in Daniel’s arms but was absolutely dwarfed in Mack’s. Mack looked up at Daisy and slowly shook his head, “You still keep surprising me.”

“Need to keep you on your toes,” Daisy joked.

Mack grinned, “This one does that plenty,” he said as he gestured towards Elena who just stood by with a smirk. 

“I’m going to go grab her bassinet,” Daniel said as he brushed his hand along Daisy’s shoulder, knowing that they couldn’t just keep holding and wearing the baby when they were hugging their friends, she needed a safe and familiar place to lay her down.

“That man was born to be a father,” Elena commented as she watched Daniel leave the room.

“As is that one, obviously,” Daisy said as she nodded at Mack who was gently rocking her daughter in his arms, softly humming a lullaby. “So when did this happen,” she said as she gestured at Elena’s round belly.

Elena shrugged, “After you guys disappeared we just… we realized how short life is. And that after sacrificing so much of our time towards S.H.I.E.L.D., we needed to give priority to what matters most,”

Daisy smiled softly, “Family.”

Mack and Elena looked at each other, and Elena let out a sigh, “I am just glad you returned in time so we don’t have to name this baby after one of you,”

“What is wrong with the name Daisy?”

“Good name, maybe not the first one coming to mind for a boy.” Mack commented. 

Daisy gasped, “You’re having a boy?”

The couple nodded, “We just found out.”

“Congratulations, you guys!” 

“Congratulations on what?” Daniel said as he returned with the bassinet and placed it on the table. Mack said goodbye to the sleeping baby in his arms and Daniel lowered her in the laundry basket bassinet, sound asleep. 

“They’re having a boy,” Daisy answered with a smile. 

Mack put his arm around his girlfriend and gave a nod. He wanted to say something, but put his hand on his earpiece, listening intently and smiled before turning to his friends again, “We contacted May, Fitz and Simmons, send out a quinjet, they’ll be here soon.”

Daisy’s smile widened, but then she realized a name was missing, “Coulson?”

Mack sighed and looked at Elena, who frowned. “After you went missing, we did everything to come in contact. When that didn’t work, Coulson just… disappeared. We’ve send messages but he doesn’t return any of them. This was even before Jemma told us you were pregnant,”

“So he doesn’t even know?” Daisy said, her heart breaking for the man she considered the closest thing she had to a father. 

“We’ve send him another message, telling that you’ve returned.”

Daisy slowly nodded, “Alright…” she said, rubbing her face.

Her thoughts were quickly interrupted by a hungry cry from Charlie, and she realized that it had already been a few hours since she was fed. “Gotta feed my baby,” Daisy said as she excused herself and pulled the wailing infant from her bassinet. “Is my bunk still here?” she asked.

Mack nodded, “Changed nothing.”

Daisy gave a nod, she normally had no problem feeding her daughter in public, her team had been used to it now, but she needed a little quiet to process all the new information. Daniel offered to come with but she just shook her head, “Can you go around and ask the rest of the team what their plans are?”

Daniel gave a nod, and watched his fiancée leave.

* * *

“Knock, knock,” Kora said as she knocked on the bunk door. 

Daisy blinked, fighting the sleep that was trying to pull her down as she was still feeding her daughter. They had been woken on Z3 what was for them at night, but as they returned home, it was only midday, and she was feeling the lack of sleep set in. “Come in!”

Kora smiled and came in, closing the door behind her and joining her sister on the bed, “I need to talk to you about something.”

“Alright,” Daisy said as she sat up a little, readjusting the hold on her baby, “shoot.”

“I just wanted to say that even though our time in space was super stressful and scary at times, it was still the _best_ time i’ve had in my life. And getting to know you better, being sisters, meeting my niece, has been the best thing ever, but -“

“But, you’re going your own way, aren’t you?” Daisy finished her sister’s sentence.

Kora gave a nod, “I hope you’re not upset?”

“Of course not, but I am curious what your plans are. Something tells me it involves Torres.”

Kora blushed and smiled nervously, “I confessed to her that… I like her, and that I just don’t know what I ‘am’, and she understood. When we kissed, it was like nothing else I’ve ever felt.”

Daisy could clearly see how smitten Kora was, and she couldn’t help but smile. She had suspected there was more between them, as she had watched them hold hands as earth came in view only a few hours ago.

“Torres is doing a road trip to see her family in New Mexico, and she asked me to come with.”

Daisy couldn’t help feeling a pang of sadness to think that her baby sister (or was she her older sister?) drive off into the sunset, far away from her, but said, “I think that sounds like an excellent plan.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, get to know each other! Have some fun, and even if it doesn’t work out or for whatever reason, i’ll always be here for you to return to.”

Kora’s bottom lip started to tremble, “Thank you for being my sister,” she whispered and went in for a hug. 

Daisy didn’t expect to be hugged right away and awkwardly hugged back with one arm as the other was still supporting the baby at her breast who grunted but continued nursing.

“I’m going to miss you, but you’re right to leave. You deserve to get to know who you are in this timeline and on earth, outside of S.H.I.E.L.D.”,Daisy said genuinely, while rubbing her sister’s back.

Kora nodded, and let go of the hug. She leaned back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. “Can I stay here for a while?”

Daisy smiled, “Of course.”

* * *

Daisy and Kora returned to the common room again, where a pleasant buzz of excitement was tangible. No one was on their phones anymore, but laughing and sharing stories with each other. Elena was now seated and talking to Diaz, and Kora joined Torres on the couch, leaning her head against her shoulder. 

Daniel instantly spotted Daisy as she walked in and sent her a smile. Daisy smiled back and placed the sleeping baby back into her bassinet before returning to his side. 

“We were just talking about Sousa’s beard,” Mack said. 

Daisy couldn’t help but run her hand alongs Daniel’s jaw, enjoying how the scruff felt against het palm of her hand, “It’s his daddy beard.”

Mack smiled, and shrugged, “Maybe I’ll grow mine out more too once the little one gets here.”

Daisy chuckled, “When Fitz gets here, you guys can start a club.”

Mack tilted his head and looked at Daniel, pursing his lips, “That might not even be such a bad idea…”

She shook her head at the men, who always seemed to really get along, until she suddenly heard her name being called from behind her. She instantly recognized the high voice with the British accent she’d missed so dearly, and with a gasp she turned around, and was met with her best friend with tears in her eyes. Daisy ran up to her, as did Jemma, and they instantly hugged, letting go again to look each other in the eyes and hug again. “I am so glad you’re safe,” Jemma uttered, cupping her friend’s face in her hands, as Daisy did the same.

“Fitz!” Daisy then exclaimed, and went to hug him as well. 

“God, ye scared us, half to death!” he muttered, hugging her back with one arm as his other hand was preoccupied by holding his daughter’s hand who was standing shyly by. 

“Hi Alya,” Daisy said as she let go of the hug and composed herself to not frighten the child. “You’ve grown so much!” she gasped.

Alya looked up, “Mummy said you were on mission, was it scary?” 

Daisy chuckled, and shook her head, “Maybe a little sometimes. But it was a big adventure. And we made sure to always look after each other.”

Alya seemed to be pleased with the reply and hid herself back behind Fitz his leg.

Jemma then greeted Daniel with a hug and scanned the room, until her eyes focused on a laundry basket where she could see the top of a baby’s head, and she gasped, “Is that - ?”

Daisy grinned and nodded, “That’s our baby,” and reached for Daniel’s hand to give it a squeeze, as she had been looking forward to this moment for months. 

Fitz and Simmons walked over to the sleeping baby and gasped in awe, “Her name is Charlotte, but we call her Charlie,” Daniel said, proudly showing off his daughter who was still sound asleep in her makeshift bassinet. 

Jemma shook her head, “You guys…” gently trailing her hand along the soft wisps of dark hair on the baby’s head, “She is so precious. How old is she?”

“A little over a week now, guess I joined you in the ‘giving birth in space’ club, huh,” Daisy joked, “although I was not a willing member.”

Jemma groaned, “Believe me, neither was I.”

Fitz picked up Alya so she could take a look at the baby too, “That’s your new cousin, Alya.” he said. 

“She’s tiny,” Alya commented, “when can I play with her?”

Jemma chuckled, “When she’s a little bit bigger, she’s too small now, and she needs to sleep a lot.”

“Okay,” the child mumbled, a bit disappointed, still fascinated by the baby. Very carefully, she touched the baby’s hand and smiled when the tiny fingers curled around her finger.

“I am so sorry I told people about the pregnancy, but after months of not hearing anything…” Jemma said, focusing back on her long lost friend.

Daisy shook her head, “Don’t, it’s okay. I get it, I am glad you told people, makes the shock a little less severe.”

Jemma once more pulled her into a hug, “We really need to hear the full story.”

Daisy sighed, “And you will, but i’d rather tell everyone in one go, because it is _long_.”

“And I need a full mission rapport!” Mack added.

Daisy shook her head, the last thing she wanted to think about was writing a detailed rapport, but Daniel already gave a nod and volunteered, and she let out a sigh of relief. 

* * *

After Fitz, Simmons and their daughter had arrived, it had become a whirlwind of emotions. Abdul and Diaz had said their goodbyes, and promised them once again to be there at the wedding. Daisy especially took her time by saying goodbye to Diaz, thanking her again and again for being there. Diaz had simply waved her off, said it was one of the best things she’d ever done, but that she really wanted to go visit her mom in Chicago now. Abdul left to spent time with his twin brother he had so dearly missed and said his goodbye too. Kora and Torres decided to at least stay a day or two longer, just to be fully rested and prepped for their road trip to New Mexico. 

Daisy and Daniel took a moment to step out and enjoy the fresh air and beach for the first time in what felt like a lifetime. Luckily, it was a nice day in April and the sun was shining, which made it even more pleasant. Daisy held Charlie close to her body, enjoying the comforting weight and warmth of her daughter against her chest, nice and bundled up and protected against the wind. She took a moment to fully enjoy being with the two people she loved most. The fresh ocean breeze revitalized the couple and enabled them to continue the long day, even though they were sleep deprived. 

Daisy curled into Daniel’s side, and closed her eyes for a second. Daniel wrapped his arm around her as they silently watched the ocean waves roll over the shore. “I am so glad to be home,” Daisy softly muttered, Daniel agreed with a hum and kissed his fiancée on the top of her head, “Me too,”

They stood in silence a little longer until Daniel cleared his throat, “So… What are we going to do next?”

Daisy let out a chuckle. They had no housing, no supplies, no baby stuff, no car except for her rundown van that was parked somewhere. “I have _no_ idea.”

* * *

Mack had made sure everyone got checked out at the nearby hospital before any one of them could leave. Especially Charlie, who hadn’t been checked out by a pediatrician yet, got examined and weighed. The baby had started crying, not liking being poked by needles one bit, but quickly calmed in her father’s arms. After her last vaccination and a few more standard tests, the infant got a clean bill of health, and was now set for a life on earth. 

It had gotten dark already when they returned back to the base. Everyone was exhausted but thoroughly enjoyed their first dinner back on earth. They had missed so much of each other’s life, the air was buzzing with stories and questions, mostly about the journey through space, and Daisy and Kora told colorful stories of their time on several planets. Especially their quest on Moxan with king Palunk and Augnum and the council was a big hit, with Daniel smiling and adding his own funny remarks. It was when everyone turned silent that Daisy halted her story and quirked her eyebrows at them, when Kora muttered “Daisy,” and pointed. Daisy turned around, an amused smile still on her face, when she gasped and immediately dropped her utensils. 

May had walked in, and said with her trademark smirk “Sorry I am late, but I had to find someone first.” 

Daisy stood up with a big smile. “Coulson!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- Please read! -
> 
> I was wondering for how long you guys want me to continue this story? Because most of it is was centered around Daniel and Daisy in space and how they coped with the pregnancy and later having a baby. I was planning on writing them settling down on earth and a wedding, but after that? Not sure! So, let me know if you have any suggestions. I was kind of thinking of ending this story with an epilogue and continue writing in this universe with one-shots etc.
> 
> Thanks again for reading and until next week!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, welcome back! First off I just wanted to say that I am so grateful for all the amazing positive comments and the kudos, you guys are absolutely amazing and make writing this story super fun to do! I also wanna thank Wlammy for being my amazing beta, I hope you enjoy the chapter!
> 
> You can follow me if you want on: tumblr.com/marvelsquake, it's where in the future I will take prompts!

“Coulson!” Daisy exclaimed and practically launched herself from her chair, while everyone else at the dinner table watched it unfold with bated breath and smiles on their faces. Coulson just looked at her, with his trademark smile, twinkling blue eyes, and his arms open wide. She fell into his embrace, where he put his hand on the back of her head and felt her wet cheek touch his. “Are you okay?” he asked, looking into her eyes, still firmly holding Daisy by the shoulders, inspecting her for anything that was off, but he was only met with the elated face of the closest thing he had to a daughter. Relieved, he placed his hand on her cheek. 

Daisy nodded. “I am okay”, she answered Coulson with a reassuring nod, and she hugged him again for a brief moment.

Overwhelmed with joy, she let out a shuttering breath and went in to hug May as well, their matching leather jackets squeaking against each other as they did. “I missed you,” she muttered. 

May, who couldn’t help herself, blaming it on her new abilities, hugged her even tighter and shook her head, “I missed you too,” glad to finally have Daisy safe back on earth, and not have to live with the gnawing feeling of uncertainty like she had for the last few months. 

Daisy dried her tearstained cheeks with her sleeve and asked Coulson the question that had been on her mind persistently: “Where were you?”

Coulson raised his eyebrows, and with a gentle warmth in his eyes, he smiled and confessed “I was looking for you, Daisy.” 

“Me? But I, -“ Daisy stumbled confused, “How?”

“When we lost contact, I knew that I could do more with my new Chronicom abilities and connections. I knew there was more to it than just disappearing into thin air, so I went everywhere to find something or someone to be able to contact you, but -”

Coulson shook his head, and smiled at Daisy, “I should’ve trusted you’d find your way back home. You always do. I should’ve known.”

Daisy gave a watery smile in return. “How are you? You look good,” she remarked, as she took in Coulson’s appearance. He looked about the same, just a little more scruffy and instead of his suit, he wore casual jeans and a sweater.

“I am good, that’s the upside of being a robot,” he joked. 

Daisy swallowed, overrun by emotions and hugged him again, “I missed you guys so much,” she sighed, as she looked at May while embracing Coulson. 

Suddenly, a cry came from the corner of the room, and Daisy released a deep breath. Coulson, surprised and confused, quirked his eyebrows and looked around the place in search of where the distinct sound came from. 

May looked at Daisy with an all knowing look. Letting go of the hug, she leaned over to May. “You didn’t tell him?” she whispered. 

May shook her head and smiled, and answered under her breath “Didn’t think it was my place.”

Daisy slowly nodded, and looked back at Coulson, whose eyes were scanning the room. “There are a few things you’ve missed,” she said and looked over her shoulder where Daniel had walked over to the bassinet, putting his hand on the baby’s belly to softly calm her down. Daisy already knew it wasn’t a hungry cry, more a ‘are you guys still there?’ cry, so after Daniel had soothed her, she had already stopped wailing.

Daisy motioned for May and Coulson to walk with her, and they both silently followed. Coulson had a very confused expression on his face, as May guided him by looping her arm through his. 

He gasped when he saw the newborn’s small round face sticking out of the swaddle, lying in the laundry basket, her big brown eyes looking around, searching for a face to connect to. Coulson instantly saw the resemblance of Daisy in the baby and couldn’t help but gasp again. “Is this baby… yours?” he carefully asked, in utter awe. 

Daisy nodded, her eyes brimming with happy tears, “She is.” She reached out for Daniel’s hand and tangled her fingers with his, as she rested her head against his shoulder, just watching her most beloved father figure meet her daughter for the first time. “I want you guys to meet Charlotte Alexandra Sousa, but we mostly call her Charlie,” she said proudly. Daniel held Daisy’s hand tightly, and kissed her on top of her head. 

“Hi Charlie,” May said, leaning over the bassinet, trailing her fingers carefully over the baby’s head and softly brushing her cheek. Charlie looked into May’s kind brown eyes, and didn’t make a sound.

“You had a _baby_?” Coulson asked, still processing the information, “In… _space_?”, his hands clutching the laundry basket’s rim, as if it was the only thing keeping him up right now. May looked up from the baby and patted Coulson on the back with a smirk.

Daisy chuckled, and let go of Daniel’s hand and reached out for the baby to lift her out of her bassinet, still swaddled tightly and content. “Do you want to hold her?”

A big smile broke on Coulson’s face, and his blue eyes lit up, “Can I?”

Daisy hummed in response and carefully transferred the tiny girl into his arms. Coulson gasped, supporting her head with his one hand and her bottom with the other, and moved her closer to his face, taking it all in. 

At the dinner table, conversations had stirred up again, but none of them seemed to notice any of the background noise.

“Welcome home, Charlie,” he said softly, the lines by his eyes deepening as he smiled at this miraculously tiny new person. Charlie, who didn’t really liked being moved around and handed over to a bunch of different people, was completely relaxed in his hands and Daisy swallowed down the lump in her throat. May leaned against Coulson, and they cooed at the sleepy baby in unison. They all knew in that moment that Coulson and May had become the baby’s grandparents.

* * *

The next day, Jemma was so caught up with all the samples Torres had taken around the galaxy, that she was practically living in the lab, going over everything and analyzing every little grain of alien sand. Daisy had assured her that it was fine, chuckling at her friend’s enthusiastic face, and she knew this full retirement wasn’t going to last for long anymore, at least not for her scientist friend. 

Jemma did however scribble a lengthy list with the newborn essentials they needed to get, and Daisy was relieved to have a friend who had already gone through it all, making her feel a little less overwhelmed. The couple had initially asked Elena to join them, as they were going baby shopping and she still needed quite a few things for her baby boy, but she just chuckled and shook her head. “You guys are going to need all the room in the car you can get, to transport all of that,” she said, as she pointed at the list in Daisy’s hand. “It’s fine, you guys go, Mack and I are a couple of months away, anyway,” she added, and patted her small bump. So they left and rented cars, both them and Kora and Torres, and the four of them went to the nearest car sale place they could find, to each trade the rental for a more permanent one. 

“These cars are all so… _fancy_ ,” Kora uttered, looking over the lot where all sorts of cars were parked around them with bold prizes painted on the windshields. She of course had been familiar with how cars looked like nowadays, looking nothing like the boxy cars from the ‘80s, but seeing it up close was still very bizarre. Torres shook her head, “We just need to find one that can take us to New Mexico,” she said as she checked the specifications on one of the cars next to her, “And it needs to have A.C.”

Daniel too looked around and shook his head, he missed the nice lines and designs on the cars from his time, “Why do you even need a car that tells you how to park?” he said with a frown.

Daisy chuckled and shook her head, “Alright, grandpa…” and took him by the hand, “Look, we don’t need that fancy of a car, let’s just go for a nice solid one with space for Charlie’s carseat and all the other stuff we need to get for her.” 

Daniel nodded and looked down at the sleeping baby in the carseat he had been holding by its handle. They had rented a car and luckily for them, the car rental also provided carseats for babies, which they didn’t have yet. He couldn’t help but smile at how cute his daughter looked, buckled safely in the carseat, all tucked in with a warm blanket over her legs and a tiny beanie.

It didn’t take long, or an obnoxious looking car salesman came strutting towards them, his dyed black hair gleaming in the sun, and Daisy already sighed to herself “oh boy, here we go...” before putting on her most polite smile. The salesman, who introduced himself as Jerry, immediately addressed Daniel first, leaving indents with his golden rings as he shook Daniel’s hand vigorously. Ignoring the three women, he said “May I compliment you on picking such a sunny day to buy a car, sir!” Daniel didn’t even have the chance to respond, as the salesperson kept going on and on about specifics Daniel had no idea of. Cars were never really his thing to begin with, but especially these newer ones went way over his head. 

Daisy wasn’t as polite nor as patient as Daniel, and quickly interrupted the man by clearing her throat, “Actually Jerry, I am the one looking to buy a car.” Jerry frowned and stared at the couple in front of him. Daniel looked so much like the classical head of a household that it baffled the salesman a bit, especially since he then noticed that he was the one carrying the baby around. Daniel gave a nod and gestured at Daisy, “She knows what she’s talking about. I do not.”

“Alright, of course, ma’am,” Jerry said, displaying a row of stark white teeth by forcing a smile and finally made eye contact with Daisy. Fairly impatient, she told him what she was looking for in detail. Jerry interrupted her once, remarking “Someone’s been watching Top Gear”, to Daniel, but Daniel frowned and looked away, letting Daisy continue discussing their potential new car. Finally, the salesman led them to where some reasonably priced secondhand cars were parked. Daisy wasn’t ready to commit to a minivan just yet, not planning on becoming a soccer mom, and so they instead went for a sensible sedan that fit their needs. 

Kora and Torres, on the other hand, went for a little less sensible and had chosen an old convertible, looking forward to driving with the top off, as they were cruising on the open road towards New Mexico. There was barely any space for luggage in the car, but Daisy didn’t want to dim their joy by commenting on it, and instead just enjoyed seeing her sister so happy with the girl she was in love with. 

As Daisy signed the contract, Daniel had to swallow a little seeing the price of the car. The inflated prices were still shocking to him, but she had explained to him that it was actually quite a good deal, never afraid to negotiate to get a good price.

After they had signed the papers and paid for it, they were told it was still going to take another day for the cars to get readied by the garage, So the two couples left, each with their own rental car. Kora and Torres had decided to explore the city a little more and said their goodbyes, and Daisy and Daniel knew that they really should go buy baby stuff now that they were on earth. After a quick backseat diaper change, they headed to the nearest baby supply store.

“You’ve been quiet,” Daisy said to Daniel after she looked over her shoulder at the backseat of the car, to check on Charlie who was still nice and comfortable, really taking a liking to the carseat. 

Daniel sighed and shook his head a bit as they paused at the traffic lights, “You know, when I lived in the ‘50s, it was considered normal that women weren’t treated equally, and it was always something that bothered me. And it is just so strange to see that a good 70 years later, some aspects of that still haven’t changed… That salesman immediately went to me, I just…” he sighed again, “I hope it at least progresses a little more for when Charlie gets older. I want people to see her full potential, you know.” 

Daisy tilted her head and placed her hand on his knee, and sent him a smile. “I know, it sucks. I do promise you, it has gotten a lot better since the ‘50s, but no, we’re not there yet. But we’ll just have to make sure Charlie grows up with the best people around her, who encourage her to be her best self. Coulson and May became those people for me, and they’ll be there for Charlie too.” She grinned as she thought back to the day before and how smitten they already were with the baby, and continued “and she already has a big family who loves her, it’s going to be fine.”

Daniel quickly glanced at his fiancée and gave her a grateful nod, before the light turned green again, quite enjoying how easy it was to shift gears and take turns, compared to cars from the ‘50s, although nothing came close to the roar of those engines. 

He knew that Charlie was going to be brought up with several amazing role models, her own mother being one of them, but he couldn’t help but mumble, “I just wish it had all progressed a little faster...”

Daisy let out a groan that morphed in a chuckle, “You and me both.”

* * *

With wide unblinking eyes, Daniel took in the sheer enormity of it all, having set foot in the three story high baby supply store. Before they went into space, Daisy had taken him to modern supermarkets, and it baffled him how big they were, but this department store shocked him all over again. He put his hand on the back of his daughter’s head who was secured in the baby wrap against his chest, and softly brushed with his thumb along her tiny ear. They had exchanged the carseat for the good old wrap again, so the both of them could have their hands free. Daisy wasn’t overwhelmed any less, and let a sigh escape while leaning over the shopping cart handle, studying the list Jemma had written up for them with every newborn essential.

She looked up at Daniel and smirked, “Look at all the stuff we need to get, and to think that when we were in space, all we had were a few cloths, a laundry basket and a boob, and she didn’t complain.”

Daniel chuckled, “It will be nice to get her some actual clothes, though,” he said, picturing the knitted booties his little sister Lottie wore as baby, when looking at Charlie, who was still clothed in only one of the two shirt dresses Kora had made out of her bedsheets. 

“True,” Daisy breathed out, and they started moving, going down through the aisles. Luckily this store was set up that all the newborn things were at the front, so all the daunting big kid stuff with all its bells and whistles were at the back of the store. 

“Okay,” Daisy said as she piled diapers into their shopping cart, “I am willing to have the ‘cloth diapers over disposables’ discussion later, but for now,” as she grabbed another box of diapers, “these will do.”

Daniel chuckled, he too was relieved to not have to deal with the homemade cloth diapers for a while, at least until they had their own place with a washer and dryer. “Okay, what’s next on the list?” 

Daisy scanned the list once more, and recited, “Diapers, changing pad, ointment and wipes…” and blindly grabbed the wipes that were next to the boxes of diapers on the shelve, and threw a bunch of them in the cart, “also… a whole bunch of onesies, sleepers, pants, hats, socks and booties, blankets, burp cloths…” she took a deep breath before continuing, “tub, hair brush, soap, washcloths, bibs, carseat, stroller, nail clippers, baby thermometer, baby monitor, toys, nursing bra, nursing pillow, bassinet, diaper bag, baby carrier, -“

“Alright, alright, take a breath,” Daniel chuckled as he interrupted her, getting dizzy by the sheer amount of stuff she was citing out loud. 

Daisy groaned, “That’s not even all of it! Can I just lay down in the cart until it’s all over?”

Daniel placed his hand on the small of her back, and gave her a gentle push, “Come on, we can do this, let’s see if we can find everything,” 

Daisy nodded and continued through the aisles, pushing the cart that was already half full by just the diapers alone. Soon, however, they discovered it was actually pretty fun shopping for a baby. Everything was so safe, bright and innocent, perfectly organized by age and category, and Daniel holding up pint-sized clothing asking “Do you think Charlie will like this?” was the cutest. 

Daisy walked over to a rack full of colorful onesies with different little animals on them. She reached out, feeling the soft cotton of a long sleeved onesie, “Will she look better in yellow with the bunnies, or the pink with the bees?” 

Daniel protested “She looks perfect in _every_ color,” and then added with a chuckle “... but I may be biased.” Daisy agreed with a smile, and tossed both on the expanding pile of small things in the shopping cart.

“Are we doing pacifiers?” she mused, as she looked at all the options displayed on the racks.

Daniel, who had just offered his pinky to keep the baby content, quirked his eyebrow, “Might not be such a bad idea for when she’s a little older, before this one suckles my finger to the bone.”

“Right…” Daisy said with a chuckle and blinked at all the options, and just decided to get a whole bunch of different ones and see which ones she likes the best. 

Luckily for the couple, their salary had been paid for the whole duration that they were in space, including when they were missing, and with no earthly expenses, they had a nice amount saved up to _at least_ get everything they needed for a baby. 

“Alright,”Daisy hummed as she ticked off some of the easier stuff until she heard a gasp coming from beside her and she looked up. Daniel was holding a white fleece onesie in the shape of a bear, it was incredibly soft and had little bear ears on top of the hood and a little tail. It was still way too big for the newborn, but it was the cutest thing ever. “We _need_ to get that, she’ll grow into it,” Daisy said with a smile, reaching out to touch the soft fabric. 

Daniel agreed, “She’ll be our little polar bear.” and smiled contently as he placed the outfit on top of the pile, “We might need to get another cart,” he realized , as they hadn’t even reached the section with all of the bigger items yet. 

Daisy let out a chuckle, and shook her head. She couldn’t believe how much one tiny human needed, “Yeah, I think that’s a good idea.”

“I’ll get one,” Daniel offered.

Daisy nodded and watched him leave to the front of the store. She lazily pushed the cart a little further down the aisle and chuckled at all the Avengers baby merch. There were racks of onesies with the Iron Man suit printed on them, little green Hulk ones, Black Widow, and she shook her head when she reached the blue, red and white one of Captain America, knowing it would probably be a sore subject for Sousa, she quickly turned around and pushed the cart to the other side, where there were many nursing bras displayed, and she sighed. They were meant to be more practical than cute, and it would be so much handier than what she had currently going on, but that was really all that it got going on for it. She shook her head and just grabbed a few simple black ones and threw them in the cart. 

“Hey!,’ Daniel called out as he almost hit her with his empty cart, but was quick enough to pull it back. Charlie was still fast asleep in the sling against his chest, not even caring how much stuff they were getting for her. “What is this?” he looked puzzled and pointed at boxes with different kind of breast pumps pictured on them.

Daisy chuckled, “Those are breast pumps.”

Daniel frowned and walked closer, tilting his head at the object, “Breast pumps…” he repeated, and he took a box off the shelf to study the illustrations on the side which demonstrated its use. When he got what breast pumps were made to do, his cheeks tinged red and he rushed to put it back on the shelf.

Daisy couldn’t help but smile, endeared by his shy looking face. There were still so many things that betrayed that he came straight from the ‘50s, being a bit prudish by modern standards being one of them, but she thought it was sweet. “It’s so you can extract the breastmilk and store it, and bottle feed when a boob isn’t practical.”

“No, no I got that…” he said and turned to Daisy, “Do you want to get it?”

Daisy raised her eyebrows, she hadn’t really thought about it, it all looked very daunting to her, “I don’t know, it would be nice to not always have to whip my boob out, but… can’t say it looks very appealing.”

Daniel looked at the breast pumps pensively and suggested “I could help out more with the feeding, though, so you don’t have to do it on your own all the time.”

Daisy shook her head, he was always so damn thoughtful, “Alright, just pick one and we’ll see if we use it or not.”

Daniel nodded and considered the options, before choosing one and placed it in his empty cart, continuing their walk through the aisles. They stared at the showroom displays of cute nurseries with the latest color trends and Daisy paused. “I like the white,” she said, pointing at a charming display with crisp white sheets in an oval wooden crib, a stuffed toy sheep perched on a dressing table and what looked like the softest shag rug on the floor.

Daniel could imagine his little girl in a room like that and instinctively put his hand on Charlie’s back. “Me too, but I guess we need to find a place first, before we can plan a nursery.”

Daisy sighed, “Yeah, and we don’t even know where yet, I am so sick of living in the Lighthouse,” shuddering at the thought of having to wake up there again and stroll through the grey hallways, but now with a newborn in tow.

“We’ll find something,” he assured her, “soon.” 

Shaking off his fatigue when he saw Daisy’s solemn face, he straightened his back and said, almost too chipper, “okay, next on the list, it was a baby communicator, right? I believe I saw some one aisle over.”

Daisy chuckled and nodded. “Yes, you go get that, I will have a look at nursing pillows.”

After an hour or so, they were finally done shopping. They had asked for assistance with all the bigger stuff as there were so many options for carseats and bassinets, it was a bit too overwhelming for the exhausted couple. 

In the end, they were happy with the purchases, and luckily a store clerk helped them fill up their rental car with their new stuff, ready for their trip back to the Lighthouse. Charlie had grown very restless towards the end of it, but after a quick diaper change she had settled, and was now eagerly having her five o’clock feed as they were parked in the parking lot of the store. Daisy closed her eyes for a second, softly humming, and let her head drop to the side to look at Daniel who was going over the what looked like a mile long receipt. “She is _very_ expensive,” he muttered, taking in the total. 

Daisy chuckled, “Wait until you see how expensive college is nowadays,”

“What do you mean?”

“Let’s not worry about that for now,”

“That is not very reassuring,” he sighed and rolled up the receipt and put it in his pocket. He looked behind him and stared at all the stuff they had bought stacked up in the back of the car, dreading to take it all out again as they got back to the Lighthouse.

“Where would you like to live?” Daisy asked him, while switching her baby to the other side.

Daniel sighed, “I’ve only ever really lived in New York, L.A., those kind of places but I am pretty sure they don’t look much like they did in the ‘50s,”

Daisy shook her head, “Not very, no. But we can look for places there, if you want?”

Daniel shrugged, tapping with his fingers on the dashboard, “I always liked the hustle and bustle of those cities, but now…” as he looked at Charlie in Daisy’s arms, “maybe something a little less hectic could be nice? A garden maybe, places for her to run around and play…”

Daisy hummed in response, “I like that,” she said with a soft smile, imagining the things he had conjured up. She really wanted to give her kid the childhood she never had, a nice house, parents, love, maybe even more siblings down the road. “I don’t think I am ready to retire like Fitz-Simmons though, I would like to keep working for S.H.I.E.L.D., only in a different capacity.”

Daniel nodded, “Me too, I like working for S.H.I.E.L.D. but… let’s not go in outer space again.”

Daisy chuckled, “Agreed.”

* * *

“She’s so _cute_ ,” Daisy said with a smile, looking at her honorary niece, who only minutes ago was telling her elaborate stories about bio-chemistry that already went way over Daisy’s head, and then had dozed off with her head on her mother’s lap. Jemma beamed with pride, and carefully brushed the blonde hair out of her daughter’s face, who was sprawled on her lap, her legs dangling off of her father’s lap who sat next to her. Fitz shook his head, “She’s been loving all the attention, a _lot._ ” 

Daisy couldn’t deny that Alya was the life of the party, bouncing between people to tell them stories or ask complicated questions that no one had answers to, but she was also oh so nice and quiet when it came to Charlie, and she knew those two were going to be thick as thieves growing up, even with the age difference and being miles apart from each other.

“Alright, I think it’s time for miss Alya to go to bed,” Fitz said, and carefully moved the child’s legs from his lap. Jemma hummed in agreement, and Fitz stood up and carefully pulled his daughter in his arms. 

Jemma then got up too, and stretched her limbs and let out a yawn, “I am going to tuck her in, we’ll be right back,”

Daisy watched the couple leave with their daughter, and could faintly hear that Alya had woken up and was protesting being brought to bed, and she let out a chuckle, knowing it was probably going to take a little longer before the girl would finally accept sleep.

Daisy then smiled and started daydreaming about how Charlie was going to be at that age, before being startled as her sister dropped on the couch next to her.

“I can’t believe that you _grew_ her, do you ever just think about how only a little over a week ago she was still in your _body_ ,” Kora said with wonder, stretching out her shirt with her hand underneath. “Pregnancy is bizarre...”

Daisy shook her head at her sister. They were both watching Coulson hold Charlie in his arms, softly rocking her and whispering sweet nonsense to her, which she absorbed with a baby’s fascination. Coulson _loved_ the baby, taking every opportunity to have a moment with the infant, as May kept accusing him of hogging the baby. Both smitten with her daughter. 

Torres went to sit next to Kora and chuckled, grabbing the beer bottle from her girlfriend, “I am cutting you off.”

“But _Torres_ , I am _fine_ ,” she slurred a little, “I only had like three”. 

“Three is plenty without having had any alcohol for so long,” she said with a chuckle as she put her arm around her, “and you should really stop calling me by my last name.”

Kora smirked, and repeated, “But _Ally_ , I am _fine_ ,” and tried to grab her beer bottle back by pinning Allison down on the couch. Torres laughed and barely put up a fight, enjoying Kora’s drunken wrestling too much.

Daisy rolled her eyes, “You guys really need to get a room,” and she left the couch where the two women were left giggling. Daisy walked up to Daniel who was deep in conversation and decided to join them, briefly brushing her hand along his arm to say hi. Daniel looked her in the eyes and smiled, “Mack was telling me about something interesting.”

“Oh?” Daisy said, taking a quick glance at Coulson, who had transferred an all too happy Charlie to May, who then smiled at Yo-Yo next to her, it warmed her heart how much her daughter was already adored. 

Mack cleared his throat, after taking a sip from his beer, “So, you know Conners right?”

Daisy hummed, “Yeah, she runs this place.”

“Well, Conners asked to be transferred back to Dallas to be closer to her family again, now that her mother isn’t doing too great, so of course I granted it, but it does mean the Lighthouse is in need of new leadership…”

Daisy blinked, she knew where this was going, “You want us to take over for Conners?”

Mack hummed, “Yo-Yo and I are moving to Washington D.C. soon and it would be nice to have someone who already knows all the ins-and-outs to run the Lighthouse…”

Daisy sighed and looked at Daniel who seemed to be happy with the proposal but Daisy frowned, “I do appreciate it, but the thought of having to live here again…” doing her best not to shudder.

“Oh no, you don’t have to live _here_ , the nearby town is lovely and you could even take a look at the place Yo-Yo and I have been renting for the last couple of months…”

Daniel gently nudged her and smiled at her, “It has a garden.”

Daisy couldn’t help but smirk at her fiancé. She was pretty sure he had already been discussing this with Mack, and having a bit more of a stable job and their own place nearby did sound pretty good... She let out a sigh a shook her head, “I wanna see this place first.”

* * *

“What are you guys doing?” Daisy asked, amused when she noticed Daniel and Mack busy with something on the backseat of their new car. The two men looked over their shoulders, smiling sheepishly at her, and when they stepped backwards Daisy could see the new carseat dismantled with buckles and straps allover the place. She laughed and dropped the diaper bag on the ground next to her, and walked over to the men.

“This carseat, it makes no sense!” Mack said exasperated, waving the paper with the instructions in her face. 

Daisy just shook her head and handed her daughter over, who she had been carrying in her arms, to Daniel. “I thought you were a mechanic…” she said with a chuckle and grabbed the instructions leaflet from his grasp and studied the little graphics on it. 

Mack grumbled something in return about it having nothing to do with mechanics, but Daisy was already lost in the instructions and frowned at the base of the carseat, “It’s backwards,” she muttered and leaned over the backseat and turned it around, unbuckling the weird tangled seatbelt.

“We did that, but then it wouldn’t fit around the thing in the middle,” Daniel said, leaning over her shoulder, his hands still cradling his daughter.

Daisy shook her head, “That is because,” as she pulled the belt to the left and looped it around another piece, “You didn’t loop it right,” and with a satisfying click the base of the carseat was finally secured. “Hand me the carseat,” she said holding her hand out as if she was a surgeon asking for a scalpel. Mack quickly grabbed the seat by its handle and handed it over to Daisy, and with ease she was able to click it in place. 

Daniel smiled, “You’re a miracle worker,”

“You guys just need to follow the instructions,” she said as she was admiring her handiwork, pushing and prodding the carseat making sure it was secured right.

Mack groaned, “I’m going to get Yo-Yo, so we can leave,”

Daisy chuckled, “You do that,” and watched him disappear around the corner.

Daniel kissed atop the sleepy baby’s head, admiring how cute she looked in her new light grey long-sleeved onesie with little zebras on them, with a matching grey beanie and warm little striped socks. “I am glad we got her new clothes, the ones Kora made were very nice but this,” he said slowly rocking his daughter slowly from side to side, “is just the cutest.”

Daisy smiled at her fiancé, “I agree, don’t even care we went overboard with the shopping yesterday.”

Daniel hummed in response, and walked up to the car. “Okay, let’s strap you in,” Daniel said to his daughter, a little apprehensive as he lowered the newborn in the seat. Charlie had no problem being put in the carseat, probably loving how it cocooned her. Daniel made sure to secure the straps and pull them exactly tight enough, before turning around with the most triumphant smile Daisy had ever seen.

“She good?”, she asked.

He hummed a proud yes, and Daisy walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, “You’re amazing, you know that?” 

Daniel smiled and closed the distance, placing a soft kiss on her lips, “So are you,” he answered softly, brushing a lock of her dark hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear.

They parted as they heard a loud whistle coming from Elena. “Come on, lovebirds, let’s go,” she said with a smirk.

It was a pleasant and short drive to the house where Mack and Yo-Yo had been staying, and Daisy let out a gasp at how beautiful the environment was, lush with green grass and big trees, not too manicured or anything. She stepped out of the car and took in the building; it was perfect, not too big with a nice front garden and a pointed roof. She heard Daniel take Charlie from the carseat and join her in admiring the place. “It’s _beautiful_ ,” she commented in awe, and they put an arm around each other. 

Mack and Elena got out of their own car, they had been driving in front of them to show them the way, they couldn’t share a car anyway with all the space the little baby took up in the backseat.

“It’s nice, isn’t it?” Mack said, making his way to the front door as the rest of them followed. He opened the door and let the couple in. They were greeted by a nice and bright living room, with big windows, a wooden floor and open kitchen. It was decorated sparsely as it was always meant to be temporary for Mack and Elena, but Daisy could already see how it could look with a little sprucing up. Yo-Yo walked to the backdoor to open the doors to the garden, and sounds of chirping birds filled the room, accompanied by the faint sounds of the lake nearby. 

Daisy looked at Daniel with awe and they both just nodded at each other, it was perfect, like something out out of a fairytale perfect. Mack showed them the upstairs which consisted of a nice spacious master bedroom with an en suite, a bathroom and two spare bedrooms, suitable for Charlie’s nursery and maybe a study. None of the simple rectangular rooms were very fancy, but with the wooden floors and the light pouring in, the new family could see themselves being very happy here. 

Daisy stared into to the rooms, taking it all in, she could already picture the warm morning light shining through the nursery’s curtains, waking up her dozing baby, or Daniel typing away in the study on his beloved typewriter at his desk, writing elaborate letters to all of their friends… Daisy turned to Daniel who gave her a nod and then turned to Mack, who had his arm around his pregnant girlfriend. “It’s perfect, we’ll do it!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Let me know if you liked it! Next week will be the last official chapter and there will be a time jump because it is going to be the wedding chapter! After that I will write a cute epilogue, and then it's over sort of, I will continue writing one-shots, drabbles etc. because I love these dorks too much :)
> 
> (I also promise a few more one-on-one moments between Daisy and the others)
> 
> Until next week!


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, welcome back to the FINAL chapter of this story, I can't believe we've reached the end! Of course like promised I will still write an epilogue and continue with the one-shots/prompts within this story. I just want to say how grateful I am for all the kudos and lovely comments, and of course my beta Wlammy who has been absolutely amazing throughout this story! This chapter is the longest chapter i've ever written and it's just pure fluff. Enjoy!
> 
> (made a little collage to add to the story, hope you like!)

****

**Six months later**

“You know you’re being ridiculous right?”, Daisy said with a smirk.

Daniel shrugged, “There are still some traditions I’d like to adhere to.”

“Daniel, we have been sleeping in the same bed for over _two_ years,” she chuckled.

“I know, but it is bad luck to see the bride before the wedding,” Daniel pleaded.

Daisy sighed, “Fine,” and shook her head, “but you’ll be on baby duty tonight”, and pressed the baby monitor against his chest, “And I am taking the bed.”

“Alright, alright,” he said with a chuckle, “I’ll be in the guest room then.”

Daisy shook her head again and softly smiled as she took a quick last glance at her sleeping baby, before gently closing the door of the nursery behind her. “I’ll bring her with me tomorrow morning,”

“You sure?”

“Yeah,” she breathed out, “want to keep her on her schedule or she’ll be grumpy later.”

“Alright,” he answered. Normally, they’d head to the bedroom and get ready for the night after Charlie’s feed, but this time, they just gazed into each other’s eyes. Daniel smiled, ”Hey, we’re going to be married by tomorrow.”

Daisy tilted her head and walked up to him, wrapped her arms around his neck, and said, “I can’t wait.”

* * *

Daisy woke up with a frown, she was so used to waking up to Daniel’s soft snoring and warmth next to her, that it took her a second to remember why he wasn’t there. “Right, wedding day,” she croaked to herself and chuckled. She stretched and looked at the clock, and realised to her shock she kind of slept in. She wondered why her baby hadn’t woken her up yet, and noticed the baby monitor she had given to Daniel the night before was on her nightstand again, so she knew he was already out. 

Maybe her dork of an almost husband was kind of right, it did feel a little more exciting to see him back at the venue. Suddenly, she felt some nerves creeping up. They hadn’t planned a big wedding or anything, just the people closest to them, but she still felt anxious about it, not really loving being in the spotlight. She groaned, Kora, Torres and May were soon going to be at her front door, so she really needed to get out from underneath the warm covers. She hauled herself out of bed, and put on her bathrobe and slippers before making her way to the nursery, next to the bedroom. 

Quietly, she opened the door and smiled when she saw Charlie was sitting upright in her crib, her dark hair sticking up in every direction, bent over and playing with her own foot. This was a trick she only just learnt last week, when she first managed to sit up independently, causing Daniel to call for Daisy all across the house. “She is sitting by herself! At six months old! That has to be some kind of record,” he proudly exclaimed when Daisy had rushed into the room.

“Hi, baby,” Daisy said with a chuckle. Charlie’s big brown eyes immediately widened and she moved her head to where her mother’s voice came from and let out a noise what sounded like a happy squawk. Her two tiny bottom teeth appeared when she laughed, and she almost lost her balance when waving her little arms in excitement. It always warmed Daisy’s heart how much Charlie responded to her, and she reached over and lifted her daughter out of bed. Charlie was always especially cuddly in the morning, so Daisy made sure to relish in the feeling of her baby’s head resting against her chest. 

She pressed kisses on the soft dark hair and murmured a good morning as she walked towards the curtains to let the sunlight in. She then laid Charlie down on the changing table, who happily kicked up her feet, really making Daisy work for it when she unbuttoned the cute footie pyjamas. “How did daddy do, huh? Did you keep him up all night?” she asked, alternating between kissing and blowing raspberries on Charlie’s bare legs. Even though Daniel had the baby monitor last night, she still heard the baby cry through the walls, but when she could hear Daniel’s voice lovingly hushing their daughter, she had promptly fallen back to sleep. 

Daisy changed the diaper and put Charlie in a simple long sleeved onesie with soft cotton pants and socks. Kora had been raving about an outfit she had bought for her niece to wear at the wedding, but since it wasn’t the actual wedding party yet, she wanted her daughter to be comfortable and wear something that was ‘allowed’ to get dirty. 

Daisy smiled and pulled her happy baby back in her arms, and moved to the rocking chair in the corner of the nursery, to give her her morning feed. As Charlie happily nursed, Daisy hummed and smoothed the baby’s hair that was still sticking up, until she noticed a little note stuck to the wall next to the chair. She immediately knew it was from Daniel, seeing as it was written by typewriter, and she smiled while reading it and shook her head. ‘If you’re looking for me, I’ll be the one in the suit. Can’t wait to be your husband. Love, Daniel’ 

She swallowed as she traced the letters with her free hand. How she got this lucky, she would never know. A deep and grateful breath escaped her, and she focused back on the baby in her arms, trailing the baby’s cheek and little ear with gentle fingers. Charlie’s hand had taken ahold of the bathrobe’s collar, clenching the fabric in her tiny starfish-like hand while looking at the moving shadows created by the tree outside. Daisy closed her eyes for a few second, knowing this was probably the last quiet moment before people were coming, and their wedding day was about to start.

* * *

Daisy walked to the front door with Charlie in her arms; she knew Kora had arrived by the doorbell’s insistent buzzing. She opened the door to Kora and Torres, who singsonged “Hi!” in unison with elated expressions on their faces.

Kora immediately reached for Charlie, who wasn’t shy in the least, and exclaimed, “Oh my god, she’s gotten so big!” 

Daisy handed over the baby as she shook her head, “Great to see you too, sis,” but Kora was already too distracted making faces at the baby to really respond.

Torres shook her head at Kora cooing at the happy baby, and hung her jacket on the coatrack. “Hi Daisy, thanks for inviting us.”

“Of course, Torres, glad you guys could make it,” Daisy answered as they hugged.

“You can call me Ally,” Torres grinned, “Since we’re not on mission.”

Daisy let out a chuckle, “Right, sorry,” and let the two women in, Kora still holding her niece in her arms who was laughing at her aunt’s antics. Daisy walked to the kitchen and continued mashing the banana in a bowl for Charlie, and turned on the coffeemaker, knowing that she didn’t even have to ask the couple if they wanted coffee. “Flight okay?” she asked. 

“Yeah, everything went smoothly,” Torres answered for them both, as Kora was still too enthralled with the giggling baby, “How old is she now?”

Daisy hummed, “Almost seven months, already,” and put her baby’s breakfast on the kitchen island they were all sitting at. 

“Can I feed her?” Kora asked with pleading eyes.

Daisy chuckled “Sure, but I am warning you, it’s going to be messy,” and handed over the bowl of mashed banana with a little spoon and bib to her sister. Kora put her niece in the highchair where the baby immediately slapped the plastic surface happily, demanding her breakfast. As predicted, the banana went everywhere, but no one seemed to mind, as they weren’t in their outfits yet anyway. Daisy, who hadn’t even changed out of her bathrobe yet, turned to the stove and placed a pan on the fire, letting a bit of butter melt in the pan. Taking a carton of eggs out of the fridge, she asked, “You guys want some breakfast?” 

They both paused to look at her, not used to Daisy being the chef, but then smiled “Sure, yeah, thanks.” Daisy cracked some eggs, and with a satisfying sizzle they hit the hot surface of the pan. To both Kora and Torres their surprise, instead of reaching for a spatula, Daisy hovered with her hand above the pan and started to quake the eggs, making the kitchen shake slightly. 

“What the _hell_ are you doing?” Kora asked, holding the spoon still in the air near Charlie’s face, as she was about to give her another bite of banana. Charlie let out an angry grunt, her mouth opened wide, impatient for another spoonful. Kora murmured a silent apology to the baby and fed her the fruit before turning her attention back to Daisy. 

Daisy looked over her shoulder and smirked, “They’re way tastier like this, I swear.”

Torres sighed, “Please don’t give her any ideas, when we went camping she almost sat the whole campground on fire because she wanted to roast the marshmallows faster…”

Kora whined, “That was _one_ time!” 

Daisy chuckled along with Torres and turned the fire off, happy with how the scrambled (or quaked) eggs were looking, and added some salt and pepper before putting a plate before the girls. Kora tilted her head, they indeed looked very nice and fluffy. She took a careful bite in between feeding Charlie and raised her eyebrows, “Okay, wow, this is amazing!” Torres agreed with her mouth full by nodding and took another big bite, “It really is!” Daisy chuckled and joined them at the kitchen island, enjoying her eggs as well. 

It didn’t take long before the doorbell rang again and Daisy smiled as she walked to the front door. May, already perfectly dressed and done up for the wedding, met her with a warm smile. It hadn’t been that long since they met up, but upon seeing her, Daisy immediately felt less nervous about the wedding. May always seemed to be able to ground her, and went in for a hug that she gladly reciprocated. “I hope that’s not what you’re going to get married in?” her former S.O. asked with a smirk, referring to Daisy’s fluffy bathrobe. 

Daisy let out a chuckle, “No, although it is white, I do have a dress.”

May smiled and followed Daisy to the kitchen where her sister and girlfriend were still gorging on the quaked eggs, and Charlie was playing with the spoon she had been fed with. Daisy sighed at the state of her daughter, covered in banana like predicted, and got a wet wipe and cleaned the baby’s face, which resulted in protest. Shushing her, Daisy took off the bib and threw it in with the other dirty ones in the small laundry basket in a cabinet. May had sat down and exchanged pleasantries with the girls at the table and Daisy couldn’t help but shake her head. The May she knew from back in the day was completely different from the one sitting at her kitchen island right now; it was truly remarkable how her empathic abilities had given back her emotions and warmth as Coulson had described it to her once. 

Daisy took Charlie from the highchair and perched the baby on her hip, who was still a bit fussy from her face being cleaned. Her favorite binky seemed to appease her a bit more but she remained squirmy. 

“Is she okay?” May asked, observing the wriggly baby. 

Daisy let out a chuckle while readjusting her hold, and said “I just think she misses her daddy, he reads her the paper every morning.” She eyed the newspaper that was still untouched on the kitchen counter, having miraculously been spared by the mashed banana.

May followed her gaze and then tilted her head, “Let me read her the newspaper, so you can get ready.”

“Oh, you don’t have to -“, Daisy hesitated while looking at May’s spotless silk blouse.

“Just let me read the newspaper to your daughter,” May interrupted and smirked. 

Daisy smiled and transferred Charlie over to May, grabbing the newspaper from the counter and handing it over too. May sat the baby down on the kitchen island and held her close against her chest with one arm, so the baby could lean comfortably against her and she had her hands free to hold the newspaper. Charlie immediately seemed enthralled by May’s voice reading some of the headlines out loud, and the pages of the newspaper waving and crinkling as she flipped through the pages. Daisy quickly went to take a few pictures with her phone before Kora interrupted her, instructing for her to go upstairs so they could get ready for the wedding. 

She asked May once more if she was okay with it, May reassured her again with a mocking sigh, and so she headed upstairs, closely followed by Kora and Torres. 

“Wow, the dress is gorgeous!” Kora exclaimed when they walked into the bedroom where the dress was hanging on a hanger on the door of the closet, “I mean you sent me the pictures, but…” 

Daisy smiled and touched the silky fabric of the dress, “It’s a bit simple, but I think it is perfect,” as she eyed the sleek white sleeveless dress, with an elegant deep V-neck.

Kora hummed, “Has Daniel already seen you in it?”

Daisy chuckled, and shook her head, “Oh no, he was adamant he wanted to be surprised, he even slept in the guest room last night because it is bad luck to see the bride the day before.”

Torres smiled, “My cousin was the same way, but then the groom accidentally walked in on her on the toilet, but they’re still happily married so I don’t think it really matters.”

Daisy laughed, “I’ll remember to lock the door then!” and smiled at her sister’s girlfriend.

“Okay, I’ll hop in the shower quickly, and then who does what?” Daisy asked.

Kora raised her hand, “make-up if anyone needs help!” and then pointed at Torres, “I believe hair?”

Torres nodded, her curls bouncing on her shoulders.

“Hair would be great, Ally,” Daisy said with a smile, relieved that she could relax a bit before the madness would ensue. 

After a quick shower, Daisy sat down on the stool in front of the vanity. Torres had already gotten their stuff from the bag they brought with their party clothes and make-up and placed it on the bed, and both of them had changed their clothes and shoes. Kora, Torres, and Jemma were all unofficial bridesmaids, Daisy didn’t want to have them dressed in matching bridesmaids dresses or anything, just what they were comfortable in wearing. Torres had decided on a green flowing dress she bought in Santa Fe, and Kora wore a sleek suit with silver earrings Torres got her as a birthday gift. Daisy glanced at them in the mirror, feeling excited to get ready as well.

“So where is Daniel now?”, Torres wondered, standing behind Daisy, while holding the blow dryer.

“He’s already at the venue where we’ll meet the others, taking care of stuff”, she answered, just in time before the blow dryer drowned out the sound of her voice. When Torres swapped the dryer for the curling iron and created loose waves, Daisy reached for her primer and started on her make-up. “Can’t wait to meet baby Eli for the first time,” she said with a smile.

“He looks like a tiny, less buff version of Mack in the pictures,” Kora answered with a chuckle and gestured Torres to sit on the bed. She snuck a quick kiss before taking out her make-up products to start on Torres’ foundation.

“He really does,” Daisy said with a grin, thinking of the many baby pictures the couple had sent them, her favorite being the one of Flint holding the baby with a disgusted look on his face after baby Eli had just left a smelly ‘present’ in his diaper.

After Kora had finished Torres’ make-up and her own, they helped Daisy in her dress and called for May to come upstairs and take a look. May came into the room with a happy Charlie perched on her hip and gasped. “You look beautiful, Daisy,” she said, admiring her in her silky white dress, make-up and her hair swept to the side. 

“Thank you,” she breathed out, a nervous but excited shiver running down her spine, “Now only Charlie needs to get dressed.”

“Oh, let me!” Kora interjected, and pulled a small velvet dress from her suitcase. It was dark red with a peter pan collar and little puff sleeves, perfectly matching the fall theme of the wedding.

Daisy grinned, “It’s _very_ cute, thank you.”

Unfortunately, Charlie was not having it at all, and after a bit of a struggle, Daisy just sighed. “Let’s just put her coat on for now, and dress her at the venue, I don’t want to force her because she’ll be grumpy the rest of the day,” she said with an exasperated chuckle, while tucking the velvet dress and a pair of the baby’s tights in the diaper bag.

Everyone nodded in agreement, accepting their defeat, and got ready to head to the venue. Kora, knowing her sister quite well by now, sneakily tucked a pair of Daisy’s boots and leather jacket in her bag, just in case the bride’s pretty heels got a bit too uncomfortable. Daisy looked at herself in the floor length mirror one last time, adjusting a lock of her hair before letting out a deep breath. May went to stand next to her, “You ready?”

Daisy swallowed and smiled, “I’m ready.”

* * *

Daisy gasped in delight as they arrived at the venue. It was a rustic old barn, renovated for small parties and events like their wedding. Of course, Daisy chose the venue with Daniel, so she knew what it looked like, but over the past few weeks, the trees surrounding the barn had changed color drastically and it was truly a gorgeous sight to behold. With the foliage being almost every shade of orange and red, the sun shining through the branches almost made it look like it was alight with fire, and to top it off, they had a gorgeous view upon Lake Ontario.

“Wow, you guys picked the perfect day,” Kora commented, looking around her as she stepped out of the car, shuffling through the crispy fallen leaves that had formed a colorful blanket on the ground. 

With a hand from Torres, Daisy got out the car and nodded, delighted, “Yeah, we’re lucky because it has been raining quite a lot lately, but everything is inside anyway if it does start raining.”

“I texted Danny-boy and warned him to stay away from outside and the main entrance if he didn’t want to see you yet in your dress,” Kora said.

Daisy let out a chuckle, “Thanks.”

“I’m impressed he texts now.” 

Daisy shrugged, “He is a fast learner,” and adjusted the loose cream coloured sweater she was wearing over her dress to stay a little warm, and reached for her daughter to free her from her car seat. Charlie looked adorable in her powder pink little coat and matching cap. Even though it was a soft fall day, she wasn’t going to risk her daughter getting a cold by not wearing something warm enough. 

The women walked into the venue and Daisy’s eyes lit up when she saw the decorations. The barn’s wooden beams were covered in fairy lights and the high ceilings were draped in white tarps, giving it a really cosy feeling. The tables with their white tablecloths were decorated with tiny pumpkins and wild flowers in vases, and she couldn’t believe how perfect Daniel had orchestrated it all. 

The last few months they had spent living together on earth made her look at him in a whole different light; the man was really creative, filling the sides of his morning paper with tiny little drawings, painting and decorating their new house, and also being the creative force behind their simple but gorgeous little nursery for Charlie.

Daisy smiled and bounced Charlie a little, who was fascinated by all the sparkly lights and reached out her little hand to grab one even though it was too far away for her to grasp.

“Okay, let’s go before the groom sees you,” May commented and pulled the bride-to-be with her to the back of the venue that conveniently had the words ‘dressing room’ on a little sign on the door. 

The women walked in the cosy room and Torres dropped the heavy diaper bag she had been carrying onto the floor with a grunt, “How much stuff does a baby even _need_?”

Daisy let out a chuckle, “You have _no_ idea,” and sat down on one of the leather couches, sitting her daughter down on her lap facing her. She knew it was risky to hold her daughter close while wearing a pristine white wedding dress, but she hoped her sweater was going to take the brunt of it if she ever did manage to make her messy. She could feel Charlie lean more and more into her, not holding her own weight as much, and eventually resting her head against her chest, and she knew the baby was about to fall asleep, as she didn’t really have her second nap in the morning from all the excitement. 

“Here, I can hold her,” May said, already holding her arms out. 

Daisy smiled, “No, it’s okay, we still have an hour or so, I’ll hold her.” enjoying the comfortable warmth of her daughter, which seemed to able to take a bit of her nerves away. She placed a kiss just above the baby’s eyebrow and rested her chin on top of her head, her hand brushing soothing circles on her daughter’s back who was now fast asleep. 

“Who is with Daniel now?” Torres wondered as she peaked through the door,

“Coulson is,” May answered with a fond smile which made Daisy’s eyebrow quirk, she knew there was something still between those two, but May, even though she was way more open now than before, was still very tight lipped about it. Daisy didn’t have to be an empath herself, to notice there was still a special bond between the two, even though Coulson was a Chronicom/LMD hybrid now.

After an hour or so, Charlie had slowly woken up from her nap and was now soft and compliant and didn’t fight when they got her into her new dress and tights. Intrigued by the softness, Charlie firmly held the hem of her velvet dress in her little fists, completely on board with the strange garment. 

Upbeat and excited voices of people arriving at the venue were audible through the door, and with a knock Jemma announced herself and quickly came in, making sure not to catch her dress in the door when she closed it behind her. She gasped at how beautiful her best friend looked in her wedding dress, and clasped her hand in front of her mouth before going in for a hug. “You look absolutely brilliant!” she commented and lovingly brushed a lock of hair behind her friend’s hair. 

“Thank you, you too,” Daisy answered, a bit shy, “glad you could make it.”

“Are you kidding me? Of course!” 

“Where’s Alya?” she wondered, looking if the girl had been hiding behind her mother’s leg.

“With Fitz, she loves the sparkly lights by the way, the barn is just perfect.”

Daisy smiled and nodded, “Has everyone arrived?”

Jemma opened the door to a little gap and peeked through, “I think so.” 

There weren’t a lot of people invited, besides the original team that had become her family and her fellow ‘astro ambassadors’ with their plus one’s. A lot of them came from all over the country, or in Fitz-Simmons case even overseas, as they had now settled down in Perthshire, Scotland. 

“I like how Coulson is officiating, like he did with Fitz and me, it brings it all together,” Jemma said wistfully.

Daisy nodded, “I thought so too, and when asked him, he was so honored. And May is giving me away, of course” she said with a chuckle.

May shook her head with a smirk, as she stood up from one of the chairs with the dressed up baby on her hip, “I am not ‘giving you away’, Daisy, like you were mine to keep… I am just… simply accompanying you down the aisle.”

Daisy let out a chuckle, “And I am very thankful.” 

Jemma quickly glanced at her watch, and smiled. “Only ten more minutes, I am going to check if everyone is ready. I’ll see you at the end of the aisle” she said with a wink.

Daisy nodded, nervously wringing her hands. “Alright,” she answered, and watched her best friend leave, followed by Torres and Kora who took Charlie from May, as the baby was going to be held by Diaz who was seated somewhere in the front. Daisy gave her daughter a quick kiss on her forehead, and closed the door behind them. 

“Are you okay?” May asked and handed her the bouquet of daisies.

“Yeah,” she said, and held the bouquet tightly by its stems that were wrapped together nicely by yarn, “don’t know why I am so nervous again all of a sudden.”

May brushed her hand along Daisy’s arm, “It’s going to be great, you deserve this, and I am here.”

A sudden happy squeak echoed through the barn, followed by laughter, and Daisy knew it was Charlie, most likely recognising her dad from Diaz’s lap. Daisy smiled, and thanked her former S.O. for always supporting her, until she heard the music swell and knew it was her cue to appear. It was a nice and light classical piece that was Daniel’s favorite. She wasn’t as well versed with the genre but immediately agreed it was the perfect music for their wedding, as soon as he had let her have a listen.

“You ready?” May asked as she looked into Daisy’s dark eyes.

Daisy answered with a nod, looped her arm through May’s arm and opened the door. Her heart was beating in her throat; she could almost feel her powers buzzing beneath her skin, not yet powerful enough for anyone but herself to notice. She was glad May was there to hold her upright. She swallowed as they reached the corner, knowing that if they crossed it she was going to be in full view. Daisy took a deep breath and took a step, turning the corner with her arm still tightly holding onto May’s. 

The moment she was met with Daniel’s eyes, all her worries and nerves dissipated, and she loosened her hold on May. He was staring in awe, admiring her with a radiant smile, his eyes shining with love as she slowly approached him. It took a while before she noticed the others in the room, and she couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that the girl who grew up an orphan, a hacker living a lonely life without any family, was now suddenly surrounded by friends and family who loved and cared about her, and that the man she was slowly approaching, who was looking at her with so much admiration and love, was going to be her husband. 

As they finally reached the end of the aisle, May let go of her and took the bouquet from Daisy, and sat down with a smile on the empty seat reserved for her in front next to where Kora, Torres, Diaz and Jemma were seated. Daisy stepped in front of Daniel and reached out both her hands, which he gladly took in his as they smiled at each other, whispering a soft “Hey.” 

She looked at Coulson, who was standing next to them with the proudest smile on his face, and she gave him a nod.

Little lines by his sparkling eyes showed his joy when he nodded at the young couple in front of him, and when the music faded, he cleared his throat. “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today for a very special union between the Man Out Of Time and Quake,” he began. Daisy could hear the people around her let out muffled laughs and she smiled even brighter at Daniel who was grinning from ear to ear. “It isn’t the most likely of couples, a man plucked from the ‘50s and an Inhuman superhero, but one that works so well. In the short time they have known each other, they have travelled through time, space, dimensions, and now have a wonderful little girl who is probably their biggest adventure yet. I met Daisy when she was still named Skye, an activist hacker living in a van, who soon showed me to think outside of the box, to show compassion, strength and a lot of tenacity. And I am glad she now has someone who she can come home to, who can make her feel safe, cared for, and loved, and I can’t imagine someone more fitting than Daniel Sousa, S.H.I.E.L.D.’s hero and now my honorary son-in-law,” Coulson said with a wink. Daniel gave a respectful nod and focused back on Daisy, whose eyes were shiny with tears. 

“Now, Daniel and Daisy, have you prepared your vows?”

“We have,” they practically answered in unison.

Coulson smiled and gave a nod at Daisy to begin.

She closed her eyes for a second, thinking of the words she had prepared but decided to just let her heart speak, and gazed back into Daniel’s eyes. “Before I met you, I didn’t feel incomplete. I was loved, had loved and lost, endured pain but managed to always get back on my feet. But when you showed up, saved from your predestined fate, you quickly showed me that even though I eventually always get up, I didn’t have to do it alone. You picked me up, held me in your arms and stood by me through every ordeal, every hardship and made me laugh, feel protected, and so loved. 

There is no one I’d rather marry than you. No one I’d choose to be the father of my child,” she looked at baby Charlotte for a moment, “… or to spend the rest of my life with, all I want is to bask in your warmth and smile, raise and grow our little family and to fall asleep in your arms, soothed by your steady heartbeat. I love you, Daniel Sousa, and I can’t wait what the future brings, because I know I’ll spend it with you.” She felt like her heart could burst, and let out a shuttering breath. 

Daniel, with tears welled up in his eyes, squeezed her hands tightly and looked at her with so much love, she felt the need to look away, but she couldn’t, she _wouldn’t_.

With a surprisingly steady voice, Daniel took his turn, and spoke to Daisy as if she was the only person in the room. “The first time that I saw you, I knew you were going to be trouble, yet you immediately intrigued me. Even when you tricked me, and locked me up, still claiming to be the good guys, you just wouldn’t leave my mind. It was obvious to me, that even though you weren’t truthful when it came to your identity, or your mission, I also sensed this deep rooted tenacity to fight for the greater good, even if it came to your own expense. 

And when the easiest thing would have been to let me succumb to my predestined fate, you chose the tough route and saved me, and you quickly showed me your wit, your passion, the love you have for people and the fight to survive when even in the worst of circumstances. 

And I quickly knew that my place in life was to be at your side, to love you, to support you, to hold you, and now to be your husband. Not only did you save my life, in every sense of the word, you gave life, our daughter who you love so fiercely that it made me love you even more, even though I did not think that was possible.” He took a deep breath to gather his thoughts, and added, “I love you, Daisy Johnson, and I promise I will forever be yours.”

Daisy took a deep breath, and quickly brushed away the tear that had escaped her eye with the back of her hand and smiled at him, slowly shaking her head as if she couldn’t believe this man. 

Coulson smiled at the couple, and swallowed, before clearing his throat as he too got choked up by the heartfelt vows “Now, Daniel, do you take Daisy to be your wife?”

“I do,” Daniel answered with elated conviction.

Coulson nodded and turned to Daisy, “Daisy, do you take Daniel to be your husband?” 

“I do,” she answered with a watery smile.

Coulson put his hands together and asked, “May I have the rings?”

“Go on, it’s okay!” Jemma whispered, and a very cute Alya walked to the front in her little dress, and handed Coulson a set of simple silver wedding bands. There was an audible ‘awww’ as the girl hopped back to her parents. Daisy mouthed “Well done!” at her blushing niece and then focused back on Daniel. 

Coulson cleared his throat and smiled, “Daniel, take this ring and place it on Daisy‘s finger. And repeat after me: Daisy, I give you this ring as a symbol of the promise I made to you today.” 

Daniel took the smaller of the wedding bands and carefully slipped it down her ring finger until it rested against her engagement ring, and repeated Coulson’s words, “Daisy, I give you this ring as a symbol of the promise I made to you today.”

Daisy took in how beautiful the smooth ring shone in the twinkly lights on her finger, and she squeezed Daniel’s hands.

Coulson now directed his attention to Daisy, “Daisy, take this ring and place it on Daniel‘s finger. Repeat after me: Daniel, I give you this ring as a symbol of the promise I made to you today.”

Daisy took the ring from Coulson and slowly but steadily slipped it on Daniel’s bare finger. It fit perfectly, and she repeated, “Daniel, I give you this ring as a symbol of the promise I made to you today.”

Daisy and Daniel looked at each other, practically giddy, as they knew what was to come.

Coulson looked into the audience and raised his voice to make the final announcement, “Having pledged your love and promise to one another today in front of all of your friends and family, and by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss your bride!”

He didn’t have to tell the couple twice, as they surged into each other’s arms and shared a fierce kiss to the sounds of loud cheering from the people closest to them.

* * *

The couple had walked to the dressing room right after the ceremony, laughing and hand in hand with Charlie perched on Daisy’s hip. The rest of the party were getting drinks, and mingled so they could take a little breather before returning to the festivities. Daniel let out a deep breath as he closed the door behind him and grinned at his new wife.

“I can’t believe we’re _married,”_ Daisy breathed out. 

Daniel smiled, “I can,” as he gazed upon her once more, “you look _so_ beautiful, I couldn’t believe my eyes when you turned around the corner.” He took a step closer, feeling the silky fabric that followed the lines of her body so beautifully.

Daisy smiled back at him, a bit shy from his admiring stare, “You clean up nice yourself,” and cupped his cheek in her hand and pressed a lingering kiss on his lips. “I was surprised to see you in such a modern suit, did Coulson’s suit guy hook you up?”

“Thank you,” he grinned, “and yes, Coulson took me to this small French atelier, I’ll show you pictures when we get home.” Daisy laughed at the image of Coulson holding ties in front of Daniel with all kinds of fatherly advice, but got interrupted by a playfully kicking Charlie, reaching out her little arms to her dad. “Hi sweetheart,” he cooed, and pulled her in his arms, kissing the baby’s face all over which resulted in a happy squeak from Charlie in delight, who put her pudgy hands on his face in return. “I missed you this morning,” he singsonged. 

Daisy smiled at their cuddly display, and couldn’t help but teasingly remind him, “You did have her to yourself, all night…”

“I know, but I missed our little morning routine,” he said, and reached into the diaper bag where the bottles with expressed breast milk were stored in a cool bag. Calmly, he sat down as he offered the bottle to Charlie, who gratefully started drinking.

Daisy tilted her head at the father-daughter duo, lovingly watching them, “Actually, May read her the newspaper today, and it was very cute. She just adores her.”

“Really?” he said as he looked at Daisy who had sat down by the mirror to reapply some of the make-up that got smudged by all the emotions. Daisy hummed in response, “I’ll show you the pictures when we get home”. Daniel chuckled and looked down at Charlie. “So you’re all up-to-date on the news, huh?”, he said to his daughter, whose dark eyes were locked onto his as she kept on drinking, her hands next to his on the bottle.

Daisy redid her mascara and screwed the cap back on, before turning around again and admiring the new ring on her finger and smiling at her new husband, “I love you, you know that?”

Daniel let out a hearty laugh, “Good, because we _just_ got married.”

Daisy grinned back and felt a shiver running down her spine, the dress she was wearing was gorgeous and she hadn’t been really cold when the nerves and excitement of it all kept her warm, but now she slowly felt the fall cold creep in, and she reached for her leather jacket that Kora insisted on bringing. Grateful for her sister, she and put on the jacket over her dress.

Daniel smiled even brighter and nodded, “That’s my girl.”

Daisy quirked her eyebrow, “You mean _wife_.”

* * *

When they returned to the festivities, people were talking and laughing, enjoying their drinks and each other’s company. Daisy loved being surrounded by her family and she and a content Charlie quickly joined Mack and Elena and their baby boy Eli in Mack’s arms. They exchanged their congratulations and eventually swapped babies to admire. “God, he’s so cute,” Daisy exhaled, slowly rocking the sleepy baby of her friends in her arms, “He’s like three months now, isn’t he?”

Elena smiled proudly, “He is,” as she alternated between looking at Mack playing with Charlie and seeing Daisy rocking her Eli in her arms. “It’s weird to think Charlie was this small only a few months ago… You know, if you want to nurse with a little more privacy, you can use the dressing room. There’s even a small cot in there,” Daisy offered.

“Thank you, but I’d rather just keep holding him when he sleeps,” Elena said with a tired smile. “We haven’t really been apart yet, I’d be listening for him the entire time.”

Daisy smiled, “I can imagine,” and softly trailed her fingers through the sleeping baby’s dark curls.

* * *

Eventually, they all went outside to take some pictures; the sun was still shining and the trees surrounding the little barn made for the perfect background. Torres, who loved photography, brought her camera and had taken most of the photos, except for the ones she was in, those were taken with the timer. Coulson and Torres had so much fun taking turns to run from the counting down camera to the group, back and forth, that Kora decided not to tell them she had the camera’s remote control in her purse. 

Daisy and Daniel didn’t really want a big official wedding, it had been more of an excuse to get all of their family and friends together, but it was nice to have some pictures of them all to save for later, and to be able to show Charlie as she grew up. 

Baby Charlie had become obsessed with the colorful foliage around her, and Coulson had sat her down on a pile of leaves, where she playfully started crunching the leaves between her hands and giggling as she did. Torres immediately jumped on it and took pictures. Daisy grinned and used her powers to gently blow the leaves up in the air, which her daughter stared at with utter fascination. It didn’t take long before Alya joined in on the fun, and so did Davis’ son Parker and Masters equally redheaded daughter Molly, and Daisy kept blowing up the leaves making the children squeal in delight as they tried to catch them. Diaz eventually jumped in to pick up little Charlie, making sure the kids wouldn’t trip over her in their excitement, and Daniel wrapped a loving arm around his radiant bride’s waist and stole a kiss, blissfully aware of how lucky they were.

As it grew colder, everyone went inside, where the local catering company just finished setting up the buffet. It was really simple, they had decided on an assortment of pastas and salads, and people seemed to very much enjoy it. Most went back for a second plate, or in Fitz’s case a third. “He misses the American stuff,” Jemma explained with a chuckle, while Alya on her lap was scarfing down quite a serving of mac and cheese, “He says it just doesn’t taste the same when we’re in Scotland, even if we use the same brand.”

“I really do miss having you close-by,” Daisy said with puppy-dog eyes as she took another bite of her salad.

Jemma sighed, “I know, me too. But Scotland is just where we feel most at home, build our life, want to raise our kids.”

“ _Kids?_ ” Daisy gasped, accidentally dropping a cherry tomato on the floor.

Jemma chuckled, “I’m not pregnant or anything, but no, we don’t want Alya to grow up an only child. We just want to complete our lab first, before starting _that_ project. At least I won’t have to give birth in space the second time around.”

Daisy laughed and said wholeheartedly, “I feel you on that!” and shook her head before she took a look at everyone sitting round the tables, the fairy lights shining on the faces of their ever growing family, laughing and sharing stories of all the adventures they’d gone on. Daniel’s face was one big question mark while deep in conversation with Mack and Abdul, and she assumed they discussed something mechanics related. Elena was teasing Flint about something while holding baby Eli, Coulson was clearly flirting with May as he was feeding Charlie, who was seated on his lap, and Piper’s laugh could be heard above the crowd as she was sharing stories with Kora and Torres. Daisy took a mental note to savor the feeling, closing her eyes to drink in the moment. Images of her parents and people she’d lost flashed by, and she sighed in disbelief at how wonderful and complete her life was now. 

Daniel’s warm hand gave her knee a gentle squeeze, and she opened her eyes. “Where did you go?”, he whispered with a smile.

“I am right here”, Daisy said and looked at him with sparkling eyes, placing her hand on his, and she started playing with the new ring on his finger. She really didn’t think that the wedding band on his hand would make her feel different, but it did. “Nowhere else I’d rather be”, she added, scooting closer to him.

Suddenly, the music was dimmed and Mack stood up, tapping his spoon against his glass, and Daisy playfully groaned at the prospect of a speech. 

Everybody grew silent because Mack was very respected, not just simply because he was the current director of S.H.I.E.L.D., but also because he was a good man and friend. He cleared his throat, smiling at the newlyweds, and boomed, “Good afternoon everyone! As a director, there are many tough decisions you have to make, and not all of them turn out well, yet giving the order to save Daniel Sousa and bring him with us… was simply the best one I’ve ever made, if I do say so myself. Seeing these two have each other’s back, slowly falling for each other in the midst of saving the world in _multiple_ timelines was amazing to see. They, of course, needed a little push… from _me._ ” 

People laughed and Mack paused and smiled, “but when Daniel promised me he would never hurt our Daisy, I knew he was sincere, and I knew he was a good man, even though he is a bit, you know… straight forward.” Daniel shrugged at that remark, he never understood why that was considered a bad thing, so he just took it as a compliment.

“These two form an unlikely match at first glance, the man out of time and Quake, yet they compliment each other in the best way possible. As a director, you know there are risks involved when you send people into space for a mission, but from all the likely scenarios you just don’t expect them to return with a tiny new team member,” he said, grinning as he stared at Charlie on Coulson’s lap, playing with the edge of the white table cloths, “But I can’t be happier about it, so I raise my glass,” all the others at the tables followed suit, “to Daniel and Daisy, may they keep surprising us!” There was an orchestra of “Here, here’s!” and Daisy shook her head at Mack, mouthing a thank you. She grinned at Daniel, who leaned in for a soft kiss, which she gladly reciprocated.

After the speeches and dessert, the tables were cleared to make room for a dance floor, where especially Kora, Torres and Piper went crazy. They already had some drinks, and enjoyed the music that covered almost every decade from the ‘40s to current day pop music. Daniel winked at Flint, who had helped putting the playlist together. May slow danced with a sleepy Charlie in her arms, smiling at Coulson who was dabbing some spit up from his blazer. Soon, people joined the girls on the dance floor and Daniel extended his hand to Daisy, silently asking her to dance. Daisy placed her hand in his as the music slowed down to a nice song that she vaguely recognized, but Daniel obviously knew from the era he had lived in. He held her close as they swayed to the music, Daisy resting her head against his chest and letting him lead. “I’m sorry your family couldn’t be here,” she whispered, and looked up at him, her chin resting on his chest. She was significantly smaller now that she had kicked off her high heels and was dancing barefoot.

Daniel shook his head and kissed her. “It’s okay, I’m still surrounded by family, maybe just not in the most traditional sense.” 

Daisy hummed, “Still.”

“I do regret my mother isn’t here, because I know that she would’ve _loved_ you,” he said wistfully.

“Really?” Daisy said.

“Oh yeah, she loved just as fiercely as you do.”

Daisy smiled, “Well she raised a great son.”

Daniel smiled and nodded, pulling Daisy closer. She rested her head against his chest again, and they slowly danced to the music, until she heard her sister call out for them.

“Hey, you have to see this!” Kora said, and pointed outside to where the sun was just setting above the lake, the beautiful hues of gold and red mingling, reflected on the water.

Daisy walked up to her sister who was looking at the view, wide-eyed and stunned with a smile on her face. She opened the sliding doors and quickly put on her boots and stepped outside with Daniel in tow, who followed and joined the sisters who were admiring the incredible view. 

“Amazing, right?” Kora breathed out

Daisy looked to her left to see her husband’s face lit up by the beautiful golden light, when a shiver ran down her spine, so she pulled herself closer to make use of his body warmth. Daniel, enthralled with the breath taking spectacle painting the sky, opened his blazer and wrapped it around her shivering shoulders, resting his chin on her head. 

The rest of the party had put on their coats and walked outside too, admiring the view. Diaz walked up to the couple and handed Daisy their daughter, who was already half asleep. Daniel opened his blazer and Daisy took her baby from Diaz with a smile. With one arm holding their daughter and the other wrapped around her husband’s waist, she closed her eyes for a second, before smiling at Daniel who smiled back at her, and held her even closer, “It’s beautiful.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that's it you guys, the final chapter! Please let me know what you think now that they have their happy ending :)
> 
> Please stay tuned for an epilogue next week and if you have prompts please leave them to me in either the comments or on tumblr.com/marvelsquake!


	12. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, okay, this is it you guys, the epilogue! There will be quite the time jump in this one but it'll explain itself. I want to thank my beta Wlammy once again, for being amazing and Hecckyeah for inspiring me with these amazing moodboards. Enjoy!

** Moodboard created by the amazing hecckyeah [[x](https://hecckyeah.tumblr.com/)] **

“Charlie, slow down please,” Daisy called after her daughter who was running up-ahead, her little legs going much faster than you would expect at first glance. 

The three-year old stopped and turned around, “I wanna see the lake!” 

Daisy let out a chuckle, “We are going to see the lake soon, but I want you to stay close.”

Charlie complied and ran back to her parents, where Daniel picked her up playfully and briefly held her in the air before putting her back down on her feet, which was a thing that always resulted in a giggle fit from the preschooler. “You’re so fast, we can’t keep up with you,” Daniel said when Charlie started running again, and this time she slowed down and remained closer, her cheeks flushed from the exercise and excitement.

“You are too slow,” Charlie declared, and picked up a pinecone that appeared huge in her small hands, and looked at it in wonder, following the ridges with her fingers. Daniel kneeled in front of his daughter and started to explain the pinecone and where it came from, and Daisy watched it with an adoring smile. Their daughter took in every word, and nodded thoughtfully before offering the pinecone to her father, who took it from her like it was his most prized possession and put it in the pocket of his jacket. Patiently, he remained kneeled when Charlie fumbled to close the button, making sure the pinecone wouldn’t fall out, and Daniel looked up at Daisy with a smile.

He had wanted to take his daughter into the forest since before she was even born, and he dreamt of taking her camping like his father did with him did after he had turned three years old. It had become a tradition they had kept up every year until he had gone into the army, and the days camping where truly some of his fondest and earliest memories. When Charlie turned three last week, he had immediately started planning the trip, and asked Daisy to come along. 

She had liked the idea and didn’t want to dampen his excitement, but didn’t want to stray too far from home with a three-year old and a 6-month old, so they decided to go camping on the grounds next to their house closer to the lake. This way, they’d still have the experience, while also having the comfort of knowing that home wasn’t too out of reach. 

Daisy put her hand on her daughter’s belly, who was strapped against her chest, facing outwards, and taking in every color, smell and sound of the forest around her. Daisy had to readjust the baby’s hat several times, it kept sliding off from the enthusiastic looking in all directions.

Daniel stood up again, Charlie had already ran off, fascinated with something else, and put his heavy backpack over his shoulder again, and smiled at his wife, “How’s Sarah?”

Daisy smiled, and bounced her a little, reaching out her finger for her daughter to grab, “She’s loving it out here.”

Daniel tilted his head at his baby daughter. While Charlie resembled his side of the family a bit more with especially her eyes and ears, Sarah was _all_ Daisy. May had jokingly asked if Daniel had even helped with the conception at all, making Coulson groan a little. “Tell me if you want to switch,” Daniel said as he brushed the dirt from his knees.

Daisy chuckled and patted the happy baby’s belly, “No thanks, I’ll hold her and you can keep carrying the heavy backpack.”

Daniel grinned, and shook his head as they continued walking. It wasn’t that long of a hike, and Daniel had already set up the tent and chairs beforehand so they didn’t have to do that with two small children in tow. 

After ten more minutes, Sarah started to fuss, and began to put her hand in her mouth. Daisy raised her eyebrow at Daniel and he declared they were going to take a break, and have a sandwich. He threw the backpack on the ground and let out a relieved groan as he stretched his back, and the adults sat down on a fallen over tree trunk. Daisy unstrapped baby Sarah and removed the carrier from her chest, and pushed her shirt and bra up to give her daughter access, who gratefully started to nurse. She let out a deep breath, took the water bottle from Daniel and took a few big swigs. Charlie was a bit too hyper to take a break, but Daniel managed to persuade her to at least have a half a sandwich, and she sat down on the forest floor and started nibbling on her lunch. 

“How long before we reach the camping ground?” Daisy asked, adjusting the hold on her daughter as she did, the tree trunk they were sitting on wasn’t the most comfortable. Sarah held onto Daisy’s striped shirt, as she looked fascinated at the slow moving trees above her.

Daniel looked at his watch, and hummed, “Twenty more minutes or so?”

“Alright,” Daisy answered and looked around the gorgeous forest smiling, “I am glad you convinced me to go, it’s amazing to go this deep. It’s so quiet here.” 

Daniel put his hand on her knee, and squeezed it, “Nice change from the hectic lighthouse, huh?”

Daisy sighed, “That’s for sure, glad Kora could take over,”

“Mommy?” Charlie interrupted, getting up from her seated position and squeezing herself between her parents. Daisy chuckled and shook her head, “Yes, Charlie?” and pushed some of her daughter’s dark hair behind her ear with her free hand.

“How long are we staying?”

“Only one night and one day,” Daisy answered. 

“I wanna stay always,” Charlie declared, a determined look on her face.

“We can’t stay forever, baby.”

“Why not?”

“Otherwise May can’t come over anymore,” Daniel interjected, as Daisy was trying to come up with a suitable answer, “plus _all_ of your toys are at home.”

Charlie seemed to accept the explanation, still with a pensive look on her face, and then mirrored her mom’s voice from days to the park “Are you ready to go?”

“You need to finish your sandwich first,” Daniel answered, hiding a smile behind his hand. 

Charlie looked annoyed at the half eaten sandwich squished in her fist, and took a small bite, not happy with the terms but silently accepting it.

Daisy just shook her head and looked at the baby in her arms, still nursing at her breast, reaching out one hand to her mom’s hair. Charlie was more talkative and needy at six months old, Sarah on the other hand, was calmer, and silently took in the world around her, and Daisy wondered how the personality of her youngest was going to blossom when she got to be at Charlie’s age.

After everyone had eaten their lunch, and Daniel had helped Charlie go potty behind a tree, Sarah was also done drinking and started to fall asleep in her mother’s arms. Daisy adjusted her clothing and put the baby back in the carrier, now facing the other way so she could comfortably rest her head against her mother’s chest. Daisy struggled to get up from the tree trunk, but with Daniel’s help, she managed, and put her hand on the back of her snoozing daughter, where she soothingly ran her hand up and down the baby’s back. Daniel strapped the backpack onto his back again and with a nod, they went on with their hike.

* * *

“Why are you smiling?” Daniel asked, as he observed his wife who was walking with a grin on her face. 

Daisy put her hand on the back of her sleeping daughter’s head and shook her head, “Just imagining you as a little kid with your father in the woods, picking up pinecones and shiny pebbles with your little face all excited… Why didn’t your mom come with?”

Daniel raised his eyebrows, “You know, gender roles those days, she had to stay home. But I also think it’s just my dad wanting to share a hobby with his son, he wasn’t home a lot, working long hours at the bakery, so it was just a nice outing for us two.”

Daisy nodded and gave him a lopsided smile, “That’s nice,” and subconsciously kicked a rather large pinecone through the air that had come across her path, “But isn’t this a tradition you want to continue with Charlie? Have one-on-one time with her?”

Daniel shrugged, and briefly held Sarah’s socked foot in his hand that was dangling from the carrier, and smiled, “I love sharing this with my whole family. Maybe later, if Charlie and Sarah want, I can go camping with them alone, but for now, I love this.”

Daisy reached out for his hand, and gave it a gentle squeeze, “I love it too, have never really camped before so it’s nice to learn from the best.”

Daniel let out a chuckle, “I am glad camping hasn’t much changed since the ‘20s.”

Daisy blinked, “I sometimes forget that when you were three years old it was like… 1922, that’s crazy to think about. Just picturing you as a toddler with a side part and knee socks…”

“You calling me old?”

Daisy smirked, “Oh definitely,” and bumped her shoulder against his.

Daniel wanted to respond but a shriek came from Charlie, who jumped on her feet and pointed at the lake that was now visible between the trees. “Look, look, lake!” she exclaimed excitedly, and Daniel quickly held her back by the shoulder before she was going to run off, knowing that his eldest was just about to do so.

“Come here,” Daniel said, as he knew the last part to the lake and campsite was rather rough, and he didn’t want a crying child with scuffed knees on his conscience, so he hauled her lithe body onto his shoulders with ease. Charlie let out a joyful shriek and held onto his head, half blocking his vision with her hands, while Daniel held the girl steady by her legs, ignoring his protesting back for the rest of the hike.

* * *

After they had finally arrived at the campsite, where prior to arrival Daniel had already set up the tent, chairs and sleeping bags, they dumped their remaining bags, and to Charlie’s joy, finally got onto the lakeside beach. It was a really nice and warm late spring day, perfect to play in the sand as Daniel kicked a ball around with Charlie, who had more fun in picking it up and throwing it back at her father than kicking it, and let out a squeal of joy when he either threw or kicked it back. 

Daisy smiled and watched the father-daughter duo play, as she sat in in on the beach cross legged with her youngest sitting upright in the V of her legs. Sarah hadn’t even paid attention to the shiny lake, as she was too busy playing with the sand, grabbing fistfuls of it and then dropping it before repeating it all over again, while Daisy kept a watchful eye, making sure that her daughter didn’t put clumps of it in her mouth. 

Daniel eventually flopped onto the sand next to her, heaving a bit from all the running, and Daisy chuckled as she patted his knee. They watched their eldest daughter play in the sand, filling up her bucket and making shapes, and Daisy remarked “I can’t believe how fast her motor skills are developing, seems like yesterday she wasn’t even able to hold a spoon and look at her now,” as she stopped her youngest from yet another fistful of sand that she wanted to snack on. 

Daniel nodded proudly. “Don’t want her to grow up _too_ fast, though,” he said with a wistful smile.

Daisy smiled at him, and shrugged, “I do like seeing their personalities develop, newborns are cute and all, but the interaction we now have with them, I love that.” She peered at her playing daughter, trying to imagine her a few years older, “But yeah, don’t want them to be teenagers _just_ yet,” she added with a chuckle.

Daniel groaned in response at the idea, but remained silent as he looked over the lake. “When are we going to tell them about their Inhuman abilities?”

Daisy raised her eyebrows, and pulled Sarah onto her lap, “I have been thinking about that too, I mean, Charlie knows about my powers but I believe she just assumes all mommies have those.”

Daniel let out a chuckle, “It won’t be long before she’s gonna start asking questions, she already asked why I can’t do what mommy can, when I tried to shake the tree to get the ball out, the other day.”

“Right… I am a little scared she’s going to blurt it all out about me being ‘Quake’ when she’s in preschool, and getting that inhuman stigma herself… but we also can’t keep it a secret for too long, it’s her birthright, she should know about it.”

“I agree,” Daniel said with a nod, and picked Sarah from Daisy’s lap and made faces at his youngest daughter who started to giggle in response.

“Maybe we can combine it with the birds and the bees talk,” Daisy said, quirking her eyebrow. 

Daniel looked at her in horror, “So _soon_?”

“She is going to ask where babies come from, Daniel.”

“And we’re going to say it that they come from storks, right?” he said with a grin, putting Sarah on his knee and gently bouncing her.

“No, we are _not_ ,” she answered with a chuckle and bumped her shoulder against his, “let’s just wait and see, I think it’s too soon right now.”

“I do too.” 

Charlie came up to them running, falling over in the soft sand, but climbed back up without hesitation or tears, and with flushed cheeks let herself fall into her mother’s arms. “Did you build a nice sandcastle?”, Daisy asked. 

Charlie nodded enthusiastically, “So big!” 

Daisy and Daniel stared at her sandcastle which consisted of two towers with one of them already fallen to the side, and several twigs standing up from the ruins, and they complimented her on her work.

“Mommy has to smash, please,” Charlie asked, pulling Daisy’s hand forwards.

“Smash?” Daisy frowned, “But it’s so beautiful!”

Charlie held out her little palm, mimicking Daisy as she quaked, and repeated her request. 

Daisy eyed her husband, it was if Charlie had listened in to their conversation, and she exhaled deeply, “Alright, only this once, okay?”

Charlie nodded with a toothy grin, and Daisy pulled her upright onto her lap and stuck out her hand, sending quakes towards the poor sandcastle which instantly fell over, blending with the sand around it. 

Charlie shrieked in joy, and bounced onto Daisy’s lap before rushing to the remaining ruins of her castle, and patting the sand. 

Daniel shook his head, “She’s going to fall asleep before dinner’s even done,”

“You can count on that.”

* * *

Like they predicted, Charlie went out like a light, curled onto her mother’s lap. Daisy held both her sleeping daughters as she sat on a fold-out chair with a nice throw around her shoulders. It was a bit of a squeeze, but she enjoyed the rare quiet moments where she could just cuddle them. It wasn’t dark yet, and Daniel had managed to get the fire going and was grilling them some sausages for dinner with baked potatoes, and corns on the cob. The smell was amazing, and her stomach was audibly growling, “How’s Sarah’s food doing?”

Daniel poked the plastic bag with food that was defrosting in a bowl of hot water, “I think it’s about done,” he answered. Sarah was too young still to eat with the rest of them so they had brought her servings of pureed sweet potatoes, broccoli and beef. 

Daniel checked if everything was cooked, and put the food on the plates and brought them over to the nearby picnic table. Daisy gently woke Charlie up by rubbing her leg and whispering in her ear that it was dinner time. Charlie slowly woke up and stared at her with blurry eyes before she realized where she was, rubbed her face and climbed off her lap declaring that she was hungry. 

Daisy smiled as her daughter sleepily walked up to the table where her father was putting the plates down, and Daniel hoisted her up and onto the bench that was way too low for her. 

Daisy pressed a kiss on top of Sarah’s head, and singsonged her name “ _Sarah Anne…_ ” trying to wake up her baby without making her grumpy and she got out of the chair, and sat down with the rest of them, with Sarah on her lap. 

Daniel followed Daisy’s example and put Charlie onto his lap, holding onto her with his arm around her, so he still had his hands free to cut up her food, and have dinner himself. Daisy alternated between eating her own food, feeding Sarah and listening to Charlie retelling things May and Coulson had said on her birthday, surrounded by the sounds of nature and the fire crackling behind them.

* * *

As Daisy packed away the remaining food, and rinsed off the plates and cutlery, Daniel kept an eye on the girls. Charlie played with her favorite stuffed animal she had been carrying in a little backpack, while Daniel played with Sarah, her little feet on his knees as he bounced her up and down, making the baby squeal in delight. The six-month old was of course not yet ready to stand on her own but did really love to be held up so she could kick out her legs and balance on her feet. 

After a diaper change and many rounds of peekaboo, Daisy let them know that it was time for ‘dessert’ and pulled out a bag of marshmallows they had brought with them. Charlie let out a cheer and immediately ran towards her mother. Daisy’s eyes widened, she had warned her daughter to not run or go near the fire several times, but she was doing exactly that. Horror scenarios flashed before her eyes and before she knew it, she stuck out her palm and with the gentlest of quakes was able to topple over her daughter who landed softly on her butt. Charlie let out a “ _oomf_ ” and looked around confused. “Charlie, what did I tell you about running near the fire?”, she once again warned her, her voice a bit shrill from shock. 

Charlie then understood how she suddenly had landed on the ground, and started sniffling. “M’sorry, mommy”, she cried, while covering her face with the stuffed animal.

Daniel was easily able to lift his three year old in his arms while still holding Sarah, and Charlie wrapped her one free arm around his neck. “It’s okay honey, we just don’t want you to get hurt, okay? No running near the fire,” Daniel comforted her.

Charlie nodded, and he kissed her on the cheek, and walked a few steps before putting her back down on her feet. Daisy stuck out her arms and Charlie walked into her embrace. Daisy pulled her daughter and the stuffed bunny into her lap, releasing the breath she was holding and shook her head. “Alright, now let’s roast some marshmallows!” she suggested, trying to lift everyone’s moods again, and she pricked the treat on a stick. Carefully, she handed it over to Charlie, who quickly forgot the whole ordeal as she watched the marshmallow slowly melt in the fire, and Daisy rested her head on top of the girl’s head. 

Daniel joined them, and he too prodded a nice marshmallow with a stick and held it above the fire while having a tight grip on Sarah in his lap, who looked at the fire with bated breath. She enjoyed the warmth that came off it and was intrigued by the sounds the flames made. 

Daisy helped Charlie to get the marshmallow off the twig after it had melted, and together they blew on it, making sure the impatient child wouldn’t burn her mouth. Charlie’s face lit up when she carefully took the first bite, and sighed contently with her mouth full. 

“Is it yummy?” Daisy asked amused, when the sticky marshmallow spread on Charlie’s face. It was the only one she was allowed to eat, as they didn’t want to deal with a hyper child on a sugar rush all night. Charlie nodded enthusiastically and Daisy chuckled as she took a bite of her own, and looked at Daniel next to her. He was clearly loving it, his facial expression was that of pure delight, his kind eyes shining in the golden hue of the fire. He looked so good in his plain black shirt and old jeans, with a lumberjack jacket and of course the happy baby in his lap. When she had found out about her first pregnancy, back when they were still in space, Daisy knew that the only man she would want to do this with, was Daniel. Because she _knew_ he would be amazing, and everyday he exceeded her expectations. Of course he too got tired, grumpy, overwhelmed with two small children and an important job, but he loved their daughters so passionately, it made her heart flutter. 

Daisy couldn’t help but lean over and smile at him. Daniel looked up and into her eyes and smiled back before softly kissing her, and she hummed as he tasted sweet from the marshmallows with a hint of the coffee they had earlier. Luckily, Charlie had been too enthralled with her marshmallow, so she didn’t cry out a protest of her parents showing affection towards each other like she was occasionally doing as of late. 

After enjoying a few more minutes by the fire, Daisy knew they were already way off schedule to their normal routine. She noticed her youngest daughter had become restless by all the changes, so Daisy decided to leave Daniel with Charlie by the fire for now, and take a quiet moment in the tent with her baby to give her her nighttime feed. While nursing, Daisy hummed a song, the same one she still remembered from when her biological father hummed it to her, and closed her eyes, taking in the sounds of nature combined with the crackling fire and the laughter of her husband and daughter. 

After a gentle burp and diaper change, Sarah fell asleep, and Daisy put her in the little sleeping bag, gently pulling the arms through the sleeves and kissing her soft cheeks. “Goodnight, baby”, she whispered, and left the cocooned baby to sleep peacefully.

* * *

Daisy emerged from the tent and found, to her surprise, her husband and daughter lying on a zipped open sleeping bag staring at the stars above them. Daisy smiled and laid down next to Daniel, prompting Charlie to climb over her dad and squeeze in between both her parents. 

The night sky was gorgeous, filled with stars, and Daisy dropped her head to her side, staring at Charlie. They hadn’t told her yet that was actually born way up there between the stars, as it was probably too confusing for her three-year old brain.

Daniel pointed out the constellations and Charlie did her best to follow. “You see that big one right there? The super sparkly one?” Charlie nodded, and copied Daniel’s hand gestures as he pointed out the handle of the Big Dipper, “It’s kind of like the big spoon mommy uses for soup, isn’t it?” 

Charlie nodded and rested her cheek against Daniel’s shoulder. “I like soup,” she said with a yawn. 

“Me too, Charlie, me too,” Daniel responded, and kissed her forehead. 

It didn’t take long before Charlie’s talking had dimmed completely, and the girl had fallen asleep. Daniel glanced over to Daisy, and they smiled before they focused back on their view of the stars. 

“I sometimes can’t believe we were up there, floating in space for over a year,” Daniel silently mused, “feels like a lifetime ago.”

Daisy hummed and placed a hand on Charlie to check if she wasn’t too cold, and said “I feel bad for Kora.”

Daniel sighed, “Me too,” 

After they had come home after their space mission, everyone was relieved to be back on earth, but Torres was like a sailor, hearing the call of the ocean, and eventually really desired to go back to space. Kora, on the other hand, wasn’t ready to dive back in, so after much negotiating and tears, Torres decided to go into space again. They didn’t break up, but Torres had to leave for at least two months on end. Daisy had felt so bad for her sister, but it gave her also the opportunity to run an idea by her and hopefully distract her, that had been lingering in the back of her mind for sometime, an Afterlife 2.0. 

“I don’t think I can go two months without you,” Daniel confessed, and dropped his head to the side again to look into her dark eyes, reflecting only the faintest of light coming from the still lingering campfire.

Daisy smiled, “Me neither,” and then groaned, “you made me _so_ soft, you know.”

Daniel let out a muffled laugh, “I take pride in that,” and placed his hand on her leg. 

After a bit more stargazing, they moved their sleeping daughter into the tent, and tucked her in on the centre of the jumbo sized inflatable bed they all shared, besides from Sarah, who had her own safe spot next to Daisy’s side of the bed. They brought several blankets and sleeping bags for a snuggly night, and sleepy from the fresh air, it didn’t take long for the parents to be sound asleep as well.

* * *

The next day, Daisy had been awoken by the not so typical sounds of loud birds chirping and the morning light shining through the tent, but a _very_ typical three-year old climbing over her and urging her to wake up. Daisy groaned and opened her eyes, it couldn’t be late going of the morning dew, but Charlie was up and ready. Daisy grinned, looking at her happy daughter’s face through the tired slits of her eyes and shook her head, “Wake your father up,” but was met with a grunt from Daniel who yawned and muttered, “She went to me first,” and Charlie had a giggle fit and let herself fall back on her father who let out a “ _oomf…”_ and opened his eyes. 

Daisy shook her head and let out a big yawn and stretched her limbs before looking to her side where her baby was also awake. Sarah’s big brown eyes were staring up where the shadows of the trees were visible through the tent. Daisy sat up and a shiver ran down her spine; even though it was nice and warm in the afternoons, in the early morning it could still be pretty cold. She grabbed her discarded sweater from somewhere around her feet, put it on, and urged her daughter to do the same before she was allowed outside of the tent. Charlie grumbled in dismay but eventually accepted her mother’s help with putting on a sweater, socks and boots. Quickly, the child sprinted out of the tent, followed by her sleepy parents in their pajamas and slippers. 

Daisy looked at her phone to check what time it was and chuckled, it was only 6.30. In normal circumstances, her youngest would be demanding to get out of her crib right now, to have her breakfast. Daisy tried to stay in the same routine and changed Sarah’s diaper on the mat they had brought. She then let herself fall into one of the fold-out chairs with her baby in her arms and fed her, taking in the fresh smells of the forest as she did, while Daniel started on breakfast.

The rest of the day went similarly to the day before; after breakfast they headed back to the lake, taking lunch with them, and played in the sand. Daniel took Charlie to paddle in the water, holding onto her hands as they stepped into the shallow end of the lake, but Charlie shrieked that the water was too cold and Daniel hoisted her up. They started laughing and returned to the sandcastle they had been building together with Daisy and Sarah, who was more interested in how the sand felt between her little fingers. 

After lunch, they headed back to their tent and slowly started to pack up again, while the two sisters played together, tumbling over each other as they did. Sarah adored her big sister, and Charlie was never too rough with her baby sister. They played some sort of hide-and-seek together, which was more of a peekaboo behind a blanket, and Sarah giggled gleefully whenever Charlie appeared. 

As Daisy zipped up the last of the backpacks, she looked up at Daniel who was staring at his playing daughters. She walked up to her husband and put her arm around his waist and rested her head against his shoulder, “So, was it the perfect weekend you had hoped for?”

Daniel smiled and shrugged. “Almost,” he answered, laying a hand on her arm.

Daisy raised her eyebrow and looked at him confused, “Almost?”

He then smirked at her, “I miss a dog.”

Daisy rolled her eyes with a chuckle, and let out a deep breath, “Fine, let's get a dog.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE READ: so even though this is the epilogue, their story is not over yet! I will be writing and uploading lots of one-shots that will continue on this story! These will fill in the gaps between the last chapter of this story, the epilogue, and beyond and vary in length. So I will be uploading either one long one-shot a week or two shorter ones a week (if that makes sense lol). These will be uploaded under a different name, so if you want to stay up to date please subscribe to this account or keep an eye out next Thursday :)
> 
> Prompts are also welcome, just send me an ask on tumblr.com/marvelsquake. 
> 
> Please leave a comment if you like, and until next week!


	13. Continuation of One Year Later

Hey guys! For the ones who are interested I have continued this story [here!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27268813/chapters/66620878)

I'll delete this later, but enjoy!

**Author's Note:**

> So I hope you guys enjoyed! And please let me know if you want me to continue this! Comments are very much appreciated, thank you for reading and until next time!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Interplanetary Romance](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27247270) by [Wlammy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wlammy/pseuds/Wlammy)




End file.
